GOP campaign touts MAGA bonafides as critics urge Trump not to endorse in key primary: 'Keep Iowa red'

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As President Donald Trump heads to Iowa Tuesday, a grassroots conservative coalition calling itself "MAGA United" is urging the president to stay out of the Hawkeye State’s gubernatorial race, at least for now.

While in Iowa, Trump is expected to talk about the economy and tout his administration’s agenda. However, some conservative activists in Iowa fear that the president will also endorse Rep. Randy Feenstra, a Republican and close Trump ally who surged in early campaign fundraising, raking in $4.3 million through roughly 2,000 individual contributions in seven months of campaigning and has been touting his "MAGA" bonafides.

Whoever wins the governorship in Iowa this November will be a key player in the next presidential election cycle, when national attention will surge to Des Moines ahead of the Iowa caucuses in the race to replace President Donald Trump.

Feenstra, who is currently serving his third term in the House of Representatives, has positioned himself as a strong Trump ally. Ahead of Trump’s visit to the state he wrote an op-ed saying, "Trump delivered for Iowans, over and over, in his first year," which marked the 1-year anniversary of Trump being in office. He has also been endorsed by top Iowa Republicans, including Iowa Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.

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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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)

"As proud Iowa Republicans and supporters of President Trump, we are launching this grassroots petition to respectfully ask President Trump to refrain from endorsing any candidate—including Randy Feenstra—in the 2026 Republican primary for Iowa governor," the petition states, adding, "Iowa Republicans deserve the opportunity to fully vet and choose our nominee through the democratic process without external influence tipping the scales prematurely."

Among those signed onto the petition are Iowa state Rep. Jason Gearhart, Cass County Republicans member Fritz Baier, former Johnston County school board candidate Lori Stiles and longtime GOP operative Sean Sebourn. Several current and former candidates also appear among the signatories. Stacy Besch, a former Iowa state Senate candidate and human trafficking advocate, is listed, as is Jennifer Duggan, a Muscatine school board candidate. Also listed is Heath Hansen, an Audubon County supervisor who also serves as the county GOP chair.

The signees expressed support for an array of other candidates, but each universally opposed a Trump endorsement.

Sebourn, a former Greene County GOP chair, who previously worked as a Republican tracker, told Fox News Digital that he signed the petition to keep Trump from endorsing Feenstra because "I just don't think that he's a worthy candidate for governor."

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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 at the America250 rally in Des Moines, Iowa. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Gearhart, a first-term member of the Iowa House of Representatives, echoed this sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that his decision to sign the petition "stems from the belief that Iowa Republicans should have the autonomy to choose their representative for governor without external influence from Washington, D.C."

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"A Trump endorsement could potentially overshadow other candidates who might be more suitable for the role," he said, adding, "While I don't know Congressman Feenstra personally, I have spoken with many members of his district, including state representatives who refer to him as the ‘absent congressman.’"

"In my view, while President Trump is entitled to express his opinions, I believe the primary process should unfold naturally, free from external influences," said Gearhart.

"I'm sure Representative Feenstra is a great guy and I am certainly not saying anything negative against him," Duggan told Fox News Digital, while noting that "his previous patterns of doing business is not what Iowans are currently needing at this time."

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.