No-Show Randy Feenstra Continues to Dodge GOP Primary Debates
Feenstra set to skip candidate forum in his own Congressional district
DES MOINES – We’re less than 50 days out from Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary election, and No-Show Randy Feenstra continues to skip multi-candidate events and still refuses to agree to a primary debate with his opponents.
Feenstra had promised it was “time to debate” after the filing deadline on March 13 passed and the primary field became official. In the month since then, he’s continued to skip events with his opponents — most recently refusing to attend the Cerro Gordo GOP’s Patriots and Pancakes fundraiser on April 11 — and has yet to commit to a single primary debate.
Feenstra’s fellow candidates and members of his own party have not held back on attacking his no-show campaign. Adam Steen harshly criticized Feenstra’s absences, calling him “Runaway Randy” and questioning Feenstra’s ability to unite his base in a general election, while Bob Vander Plaats warned that Feenstra’s “nomination places all [Republican] gains at risk.”
The next Republican primary debate will take place in Denison — which is in Feenstra’s own Congressional district — on May 3. So far, Feenstra is the only candidate who has not confirmed his attendance at an event in his own backyard.
Feenstra has been “unable to clear the primary field” after he failed to get Donald Trump’s endorsement and was snubbed by Vander Plaats. While Feenstra hides from the campaign trail, GOP activists are planning for the “very, very real possibility” of the wide-open primary going to a “contested” convention.
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Iowans deserve a governor who will actually show up, but No-Show Randy Feenstra can’t even bring himself to appear on the debate stage in his own district. Feenstra refusing to quit his D.C. disappearing act, answer tough questions, or agree to a primary debate with his opponents proves how unfit he is to be Iowa’s next governor.”
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