Douglas Jensen withdrawing from Iowa 4th District congressional race
Republican congressional candidate Douglas Jensen announced he will withdraw from the race to replace U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra in the 4th District.
Jensen said in a news release that his wife, who is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is currently serving on active duty and recently learned she will be sent overseas. They have two children at home.
“We’ve managed a lot recently, but this changes the equation,” Jensen said in a statement. “I cannot give my children the stability they deserve while managing the demands of a campaign at this scale. Now is the moment to lead at home.”
Jensen, an executive with a commercial concrete company and an Air Force veteran, had been running on a campaign of restoring common sense functionality to Congress.
“This most recent government shutdown that we just went through, the longest ever — and that's not a record we should be proud of — it's a symptom of the real problem that is the broken Congress,” he said at a recent candidate forum in Holstein.
Jensen's decision narrows the Republican primary field to four. The remaining contenders include Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan, Iowa Tea Party founder Ryan Rhodes, software consultant Christian Schlaefer and former Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl.
On the Democratic side, Dave Dawson, Stephanie Steiner and Ashley WolfTornabane are competing for their party's nomination.
Jensen promised to remain active in civic life.
“When the time is right for my family, I’ll be ready to serve wherever I’m needed," he said.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.