Democratic candidate for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District Ryan Melton said Sunday at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday that he wants to reverse several concerning trends, including a lack of funding, in rural Iowa.
Melton , 39, is trying to unseat Republican Randy Feenstra, a two-term incumbent from Hull. The district includes Council Bluffs, Sioux City and Ames in the northwest quadrant of the state.
Melton, who lives in Nevada, is a supervisor at Nationwide Insurance. He has a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a master’s degree from the University of Kansas.
This isn’t the first time Feenstra and Melton have competed for the seat: In 2022, Feenstra defeated Melton with 67.4% of the vote. Libertarian Charles Aldrich also is running this year.
Rural Iowa suffering with lost population, lack of funding
Throughout his 20-minute speech Sunday, Melton said rural Iowa is being hollowed out as the 4th Congressional District loses residents and Republican politics makes it hard to recruit young people and doctors to the state.