Rick Stewart

Stewart was born in Postville, Iowa, and raised in Maquoketa, according to his 2020 Candidate Connection survey; he lives in Cedar Rapids.[1][2] He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1969 and earned an associate degree in agricultural mechanics from Kirkwood Community College, a bachelor's degree from Coe College (1991), and a master's degree from the University of Chicago (1993).[1] By his own account, he spent two years traveling overland through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, then worked as a police officer in Maquoketa.[1]

Stewart says he started the natural foods business Frontier Natural Products Co-Operative in 1976 and retired in 1999; Ballotpedia lists him as its CEO.[1] After retiring he says he traveled, including hiking the Appalachian Trail, and that he maintains an apartment in Guatemala where he works with an orphanage and school; Ballotpedia lists affiliations with EDELAC and Quetzaltrekkers in Xela, Guatemala.[1] He ran as the Libertarian candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2018, for U.S. Senate in 2020, and for governor in 2022, and lost each general election.[1][2] In 2026 he was the Libertarian nominee for the open seat in Iowa's 2nd District.[1][2] He received 2.7% of the vote to Lindsay James's 49.5%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]