Left: Then-candidate and former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on January 05, 2024 in Mason City, Iowa. Right: Iowa Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, gubernatorial candidate, speaks during Iowa’s Roast and Ride on Oct. 11, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Cody Scanlan/The Register/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
"Randy Feenstra is a champion for Iowa values — fiscal responsibility, defending life, and supporting farmers and rural communities. I'm proud to endorse Randy Feenstra for governor because I know he delivers for Iowa," Cournoyer said.
Billy Fuerst, a Feenstra campaign spokesman, told Fox News Digital that the congressman "is the only conservative in the race for Iowa Governor who’s had the President’s back and actually voted to implement President Trump’s America First agenda."
Feenstra, who is the frontrunner in the Iowa gubernatorial race, accompanied the president aboard Air Force One on his trip to Des Moines on Tuesday, marking the second time in roughly six months that Feenstra has traveled with the president on Air Force One, with the last time being when Trump signed a set of working families tax cuts that Feenstra helped write and promote in the House.
Fuerst emphasized Feenstra's record of working with Trump, saying, "Randy voted to secure the border, unleash Iowa energy production, and pass the largest tax cuts for working families in U.S. history."
"That’s real, conservative leadership for Iowa, and Congressman Feenstra will keep working with the President to defeat the Radical Left and keep Iowa red."
However, some Iowa conservatives are not convinced by Feenstra’s overtures to Trump and believe that he does not reflect the priorities of the conservative base. MAGA United launched an online plea to the president called "No endorsement for Feenstra," which has garnered over 250 signatures, including from some influential Iowa Republicans.
The petition states that by keeping himself out of the primary race, Trump would "keep the Iowa GOP primary fair, open, and decided by Iowans alone."
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Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, walks down the House steps of the Capitol on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
He said that there is a "night and day" difference between Feenstra and other candidates, saying, "With the real, true MAGA conservatives that are running for the position of governor of Iowa, I think that Trump will be wise enough and smart enough to not endorse."
Iowa independent journalist Chuck Offenberger reported in August that Sebourn said he would go so far as to "endorse and put a sign for" Democratic candidate Rob Sand Rob in his yard if Feenstra became the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
Perhaps most politically significant is the appearance of Stiles, a Johnston school board candidate who received backing from Bob Vander Plaats and The Family Leader, a prominent evangelical conservative organization in Iowa. Vander Plaats has played an influential role in conservative politics in the state, particularly among faith-based voters, and his network has historically carried weight in both caucus and down-ballot races.
Vander Plaats and The Family Leader have not yet issued official endorsements in the Iowa gubernatorial race and did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Stiles told Fox News Digital that she signed the petition because "I have confidence that the grassroots people of Iowa know all 5 Gubernatorial candidates, or will get to know them," between now and the primary election on June 2.
"President Trump's endorsement carries weight and … could tip the scales in favor of one who Iowans don't necessarily favor," she said.
"I simply prefer to allow Iowans to decide, without ANY of the 5 receiving a 'Trump-endorsement-advantage,’" she went on, adding, "The candidates' own efforts, track records, qualifications and vision for Iowa's future should, in my opinion, be the main, dare I say only, consideration when they cast their vote."
In an all-caps message to Fox News Digital, Baier wrote, "I DO NOT WANT AN [sic] HAND PICKED ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATE."
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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Addressing Trump directly, Duggan said, "President Trump, if a person needs a wrench and you give them a screwdriver, it doesn't mean that the screwdriver is no good, it's just not the right tool for the current job that needs done. Lets let the people of Iowa decide on which Republican candidate is best to represent Iowa's kids and families and their future so we can continue to make America great again."
Whether the effort succeeds in shaping Trump’s involvement remains to be seen. Trump has not commented publicly on Feenstra or the petition, and it remains unclear whether he is considering an endorsement in the race.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-campaign-touts-maga-bonafides-critics-urge-trump-not-endorse-key-primary-keep-iowa-red