Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl is launching a campaign for the Republican nomination in western Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.
Windschitl, 41, of Missouri Valley, was first elected to the Iowa House in 2006 at the age of 22 and is serving his tenth term. He represents House District 15, which includes Harrison County and parts of Pottawattamie County.
He has served as majority leader, the number two position in House leadership, since his colleagues elected him to that post in 2019 after previously serving as speaker pro tempore.
Rep. Matt Windschitl looks on during discussion on the Iowa House floor on May 14, 2025, 2025, at the Iowa State Capitol.
In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Windschitl said he wants to focus on “the bread and butter stuff” if elected to Congress.
“I want to help get the country back on a track where we don’t have rising inflation, we don’t have people getting taxed out of their homes, we don’t have the global concern about are we the dominant country or not,” he said. “I think what the president is doing right now is on that path.”
Windschitl works for Doll Distributing in Council Bluffs. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2001 and served a tour in Iraq in 2005 before being honorably discharged in 2009.
Iowa’s 4th Congressional District is the most conservative of Iowa’s four congressional districts, spanning 36 counties in northwestern Iowa and along the full western edge of the state.
Windschitl said constituents and friends have been asking him to consider running for the seat after current U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra filed paperwork May 12 to form an exploratory committee to run for governor in 2026.
Windschitl said, “I’ve been thinking about it, praying about it,” but the deciding factor was speaking to his two daughters about whether he should run.
“Both my daughters have got my back, and those are the two most important people in my life,” he said. “So when they said, ‘Yeah, Dad, go get ’em.’ I said, ‘All right, let’s do it.'”
At least two other Republicans are exploring a run for the party’s nomination for Congress. State Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, launched an exploratory committee for the seat on May 17 and Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan announced his campaign in late June.
Windschitl said he has a record of working on important issues and showing leadership in the Iowa Legislature.
“I’ve got a 19-year track record of being pro-life, pro-2A, pro-business, pro-ag, cutting taxes, getting government out of the way, getting bureaucracy out of the way and helping constituents through different political problems,” he said. “But also when we’ve had the derecho, when we’ve had floods, being there boots on the ground. You can look at everything I’ve done. My record stands for itself.”
Windschitl endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president before the 2024 Republican presidential caucuses. He acknowledged that his endorsement “may be” an issue during the primary, “but that’s up to each individual voter.”
“That’s behind us,” he said. “I’m not focused on the past. I’m focused on the future. And I believe President Trump is doing a fantastic job, and I want to be there helping move an agenda forward for the people of America.”
Windschitl said he plans to step down as House majority leader but will continue to serve the remainder of his term as a state representative, which runs through the end of 2026.
“The caucus and Iowans deserve an opportunity to have a majority leader that’s not trying to serve two masters,” he said.
Trump hinted that House Republicans may have already agreed on a new majority leader. Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday, July 3, he referred to Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, as “Iowa House majority leader-elect.”
“Great future,” Trump said of Kaufmann.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, has not announced when Republicans will elect a new majority leader.
Democrat Ryan Melton, who ran against Feenstra in 2022 and 2026, had announced he would run again in 2026. But he suspended his campaign in June, citing changes to his health and employment status.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Republican Matt Windschitl running for Congress in Iowa 4th District