The Full Record

U.S. House · Iowa's 4th District

Northwest Iowa, including Sioux City, Fort Dodge, and Spencer

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 16 claims re-checked against their sources · 2 corrected · 0 removed

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

  • Fixed a self-contradictory primary claim: the file said Feenstra 'did not seek re-election ... and lost the June 2, 2026 Republican primary to Chris McGowan (Feenstra instead ran for Iowa Governor)' — but Ballotpedia's vote table shows McGowan won 99.3% of the primary vote (55,077 of 55,458) with Feenstra and five others listed as withdrawn/disqualified, i.e. Feenstra withdrew from the House primary (to run for governor) rather than losing a contested vote. Context and McGowan's ballotNote rewritten to say McGowan 'advanced unopposed' after Feenstra and five other Republicans withdrew.
  • Added Dawson's confirmed Democratic primary win percentage (39.0%) to context, verified against Ballotpedia's vote table.
  • Confirmed general-election slate (Dawson D, McGowan R, Decker IND write-in) exactly matches Ballotpedia's current race page.
  • Verified all of Dawson's background/priorities/positions verbatim against his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, and McGowan's background/priorities/positions verbatim against his campaign site (fetched via a reader proxy since the site is JavaScript-rendered) — all accurate, no changes needed.

On the ballot · 3 candidates

Dave DawsonDFormer member, Iowa House of Representatives; prosecutor

Raised $136K · spent $86K · $50K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Chris McGowanR

Raised $680K · spent $351K · $329K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Jermaine DeckerIND

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUEDave Dawson
D
Chris McGowan
R
Jermaine Decker
IND
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations—Supports[4]—
Raise taxes on high earners or corporationsMixed[2]——
Expand public health coverageSupports[2]——
Broad tariffs on imported goods—Mixed[4]—

The candidates, in full

Dave Dawson

DFormer member, Iowa House of Representatives; prosecutor

Won the June 2 Democratic primary

Dawson is a Democratic former Iowa state legislator and prosecutor running for this open seat. He describes himself as focused on health care access, rural investment, and reducing corporate influence over the economy.[2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

On the record — official actions

  • actionServed as a Democratic member of the Iowa House of Representatives after being elected in 2012 and 2014.[2]

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand public health coverage

    Dawson's Candidate Connection survey response says he will work to lower prescription drug costs, expand rural health care access, and invest in medical research.[2]

  • MixedRaise taxes on high earners or corporations

    Dawson says the growing national debt is a major challenge and that any federal spending needs to be paid for without adding to the debt, without stating a specific tax position on high earners.[2]

In their words — priorities

  • Expand health care options, lower prescription drug costs, expand rural health care access, and keep rural hospitals and nursing homes open.[2]
  • Invest in rural communities: expand broadband, repair roads and bridges, strengthen family farms, and make housing more affordable.[2]
  • Raise wages and increase competition by pushing back on corporate monopolies that he says hurt farmers and small business owners.[2]

Background

  • Dawson describes himself as a public servant, prosecutor, and former state legislator who has lived in Iowa his whole life.[2]
  • He was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2012 and 2014, where he says he worked across party lines on constituent issues.[2]
  • In 2016, he received the Gold Star Award from the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association for legislative leadership on law enforcement and public safety issues.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $136K · spent $86K · $50K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Chris McGowan

R

Advanced unopposed in the June 2 Republican primary with 99.3% of the vote after incumbent Randy Feenstra and five other candidates withdrew

McGowan is the Republican nominee for this open seat, a fourth-generation Iowan from the district running on an "America First" platform emphasizing border security, agriculture, and reduced federal spending.[3][4]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsExpand immigration enforcement and deportations

    McGowan's campaign site calls for completing border security efforts, stopping fentanyl flows, and supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement's removal operations.[4]

  • MixedBroad tariffs on imported goods

    McGowan's campaign site says he will support "free and fair-trade agreements" for agricultural goods without detailing a position on broad tariffs.[4]

In their words — priorities

  • Create a strong economy, eliminate wasteful federal spending, secure the southern border, support the armed forces and national defense, and protect what he calls Iowa's traditional values.[3]

Background

  • McGowan says he was born and raised in Iowa's 4th Congressional District, where his children represent the fifth generation of his family to live in northwest Iowa.[3]
  • His campaign site says his great-grandfather was recognized as the state's top per-acre corn producer in 1944, and his mother was raised on a crop and livestock farm near Fonda, Iowa.[4]

Campaign money

Raised $680K · spent $351K · $329K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Campaign website ↗Shareable profile page

Jermaine Decker

IND

Write-in candidate

Decker is a retired U.S. Army veteran running as an independent write-in candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District, campaigning against the two-party system and on fighting government corruption.[5]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • Says his first priority is "fighting corruption," arguing that no new policy can serve the public if the political system itself is broken.[6]
  • Says he wants to end the two-party system and stands firmly on defending constitutional rights.[6]
  • Lists water and dirt quality in Iowa among the public policy areas he is personally passionate about.[6]

Background

  • Served in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2015; earned a high school diploma from Logan-Magnolia High School; is retired.[5]
Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

McGowan has no Ballotpedia narrative biography, so his background here is limited to what his own campaign site states about his family history in the district. Note: Feenstra withdrew from the Republican primary (running for governor instead) rather than losing a contested primary to McGowan, who advanced unopposed with 99.3% of the vote; this was corrected from an earlier draft that described McGowan as having 'defeated' Feenstra.

Sources · 6

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.Dave Dawson (Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey) · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  3. 3.McGowan for Iowa · McGowan for Iowa (campaign site) · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  4. 4.Vision · McGowan for Iowa (campaign site) · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
  5. 5.Jermaine Decker · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  6. 6.Jermaine Decker (Candidate Connection survey responses) · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026-08-23 Candidate's own words