Iowa's 4th congressional district

Coordinates: 42°37′43″N 94°38′42″W / 42.62861°N 94.64500°W / 42.62861; -94.64500

Iowa's 4th congressional district
Iowa's 4th congressional district since January 3, 2013
Representative	Randy Feenstra R–Hull
Distribution	50.58% urban 49.42% rural
Population (2019)	749,897
Median household income	$58,270[1]
Ethnicity	88.3% White 6.4% Hispanic 1.9% Asian 1.5% Black 1.4% Two or more races 0.5% other
Cook PVI	R+16[2]

Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part. The district includes Sioux City, Ames, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Boone and Carroll; it is currently represented by Republican Randy Feenstra, who has been in office since 2021. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+16, it is the most Republican district in Iowa.^[2]

History[]

Since the 1880s, there have been major changes in the location or nature of Iowa's 4th Congressional District. From 1886 until 1941, the district was made up of largely rural counties in northeastern Iowa, including the easternmost five counties in the northernmost two rows^[3] (and, during the 1930s, Buchanan and Delaware counties from the third row).^[4] During that era, the district included areas from Mason City east to the Mississippi River.

In 1941, Iowa's 5th Congressional District (made up of rural counties in southern Iowa) was renumbered as Iowa's 4th Congressional District, and counties in the old 4th District were placed in the 3rd District and the 2nd District.^[5] (In 1942, 4th District incumbent, Henry O. Talle, would defeat the 2nd District incumbent William S. Jacobsen in the new 2nd Congressional District). From 1941 until 1960 the 4th Congressional District included the central five counties of each of the two southernmost tiers, plus four counties between Des Moines and Iowa City (Mahaska, Keokuk, Jasper and Poweshiek).^[5] 5th District incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Karl M. LeCompte was reelected in the reconfigured 4th District in 1942, and was reelected in the next seven races. In 1958, when LeCompte did not run for reelection, Democrat Steven V. Carter defeated Republican John Kyl. A recurrence of cancer would claim Carter's life before the end of his only term, and Kyl won the special election and next general election. In 1961 the 4th Congressional District was expanded to include five central Iowa counties - Warren, Marion, Marshall, Tama and Benton^[6] - but retained its rural character. Kyl held this seat until he was swept out in the massive Democratic landslide of 1964. However, he regained his old seat in 1966, and was reelected two more times.

The rural character of the district was changed when most of its territory was merged with the Des Moines-based 5th District of Democratic incumbent Neal Smith after the 1970 census. Polk County (home to Des Moines and most of its suburbs) was added, while most of the rural counties were taken out.^[7] Smith defeated Kyl in the 1972 congressional election. The district became even less rural in 1981, when Story County (home of Ames) was added, and other rural counties were taken out.^[8] The district was significantly altered after the 1990 census, when it was reconfigured to take in the southwest quadrant of the state from Des Moines to Council Bluffs. Smith was reelected in 1992, but defeated in 1994 by Republican Greg Ganske.

The 2001 remap made the 4th district a north-central Iowa district. It could not be said to be the successor of any of the previous districts. It was a primarily rural district, though it included Ames and Mason City. It did not include any of the state's nine largest cities, and only four of the twenty largest Iowa cities.^[9] The plan went into effect in 2003 for the 108th U.S. Congress.^[10] The 5th's incumbent congressman, Tom Latham, had his home in Alexander drawn into the 4th, and was elected from this district five times.

For the 2012 elections, the Iowa Legislature passed a plan that went into effect in 2013 for the 113th U.S. Congress. The district now covers the northwest corner of the state, and essentially merged the northern half of the old 5th District with the western third of the old 4th. The new map placed Latham and 5th District incumbent Steve King in the same district. Although the new 4th was geographically more Latham's district, he opted to move to the redrawn 3rd District, leaving King to take the seat. The current 4th district is by far the most conservative in Iowa - it was the only one of the state's four districts to be won by Mitt Romney in 2012, and Donald Trump carried it by over 25 points in 2016. Additionally, King was the only Republican House member from Iowa during the 116th Congress, although he faced a close race in 2018 due to his long history of controversial comments.

In June 2020, Steve King was defeated in the Republican House primary by challenger Randy Feenstra.

Statewide races since 2000[]

Election results from statewide races:

Office	Year	District	Statewide	Nationwide
President	2000	George W. Bush 49% – Al Gore 48%	Gore	Bush
	2004	George W. Bush 51% – John Kerry 48%	Bush
	2008	Barack Obama 53% – John McCain 45%	Obama	Obama
	2012	Mitt Romney 53% – Barack Obama 45%
	2016	Donald Trump 61% – Hillary Clinton 34%	Trump	Trump
	2020	Donald Trump 63% – Joe Biden 36%		Biden

List of members representing the district[]

Member	Party	Term	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1863
Josiah B. Grinnell	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867	38th 39th	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Lost renomination.
William Loughridge	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871	40th 41st	Elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Lost renomination.
Madison M. Walden	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Lost renomination.
Henry O. Pratt	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877	43rd 44th	Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Retired.
Nathaniel C. Deering	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Retired.
Luman H. Weller	Greenback	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Elected in 1882. Lost re-election.
William E. Fuller	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889	49th 50th	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Lost renomination.
Joseph H. Sweney	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891	51st	Elected in 1888. Lost re-election.
Walter H. Butler	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	Elected in 1890. Lost re-election.
Thomas Updegraff	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1899	53rd 54th 55th	Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Lost renomination.
Gilbert N. Haugen	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1933	56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election.
Fred Biermann	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939	73rd 74th 75th	Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Lost re-election.
Henry O. Talle	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1943	76th 77th	Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Redistricted to the 2nd district.
Karl M. LeCompte	Republican	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1959	78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Retired.
Steven V. Carter	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – November 4, 1959	86th	Elected in 1958. Died.
Vacant		November 4, 1959 – December 15, 1959
John H. Kyl	Republican	December 15, 1959 – January 3, 1965	86th 87th 88th	Elected to finish Carter's term. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Lost re-election.
Bert Bandstra	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967	89th	Elected in 1964. Lost re-election.
John H. Kyl	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973	90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Lost re-election.
Neal E. Smith	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1995	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Lost re-election.
Greg Ganske	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Redistricted to the 3rd district but retired to run for U.S. senator.
Tom Latham	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Steve King	Republican	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2021	113th 114th 115th 116th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Lost re-nomination.
Randy Feenstra	Republican	January 3, 2021 – Present	117th	Elected in 2020.

Historical election results[]

Year[11]	Winner			Second			Percentage
	Party affiliation	Candidate	Votes	Party affiliation	Candidate	Votes
1920	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	53,083	Democratic	Carl Evans	18,104	75%–25%
1922			32,586			24,532	57%–43%
1924			50,850			20,636	71%–29%
1926			30,611			20,076	60%–40%
1928			50,488			31,968	61%–39%
1930			29,224			20,236	59%–41%
1932	Democratic	Fred Biermann	62,598	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	42,207	59%–41%
1934			49,504			43,794	52%–46%
1936			56,308		Henry O. Talle	51,805	51%–47%
1938	Republican	Henry O. Talle	48,640	Democratic	Fred Biermann	44,601	52%–48%
1940			66,691			51,558	56%–44%
1942		Karl M. LeCompte	52,258			28,745	65%–35%
1944			59,658			49,098	55%–45%
1946			43,753			31,203	58%–42%
1948			53,384		Steven V. Carter	49,894	52%–48%
1950			51,168			38,649	57%–43%
1952			73,317			44,900	62%–38%
1954			49,608		Herschel C. Loveless	39,652	56%–44%
1956			58,024		Steven V. Carter	56,406	51%–49%
1958	Democratic	Steven V. Carter	42,479	Republican	John Henry Kyl	39,233	52%–48%
1960	Republican	John Henry Kyl	65,016	Democratic		49,918	57%–43%
1962			65,538		Gene W. Glenn	51,810	56%–44%
1964	Democratic	Bert Bandstra	85,518	Republican	John Henry Kyl	73,898	54%–46%
1966	Republican	John Henry Kyl	65,259	Democratic	Bert Bandstra	61,074	52%–48%
1968			83,259			71,134	54%–46%
1970			59,396			49,369	55%–45%
1972	Democratic	Neal Edward Smith	123,431	Republican	John Henry Kyl	85,156	59%–41%
1974			91,755			53,756	61%–35%
1976			145,343			65,013	69%–31%
1978			88,526			48,308	65%–35%
1980			117,896			100,335	54%–36%
1982			118,849			60,534	66%–34%
1984			136,922			88,717	61%–39%
1986			107,271			49,641	68%–32%
1988			157,065			62,056	72%–28%
1990			127,812	unopposed		2,778	98%–2%
1992			158,610	Republican	Paul Lunde	94,045	62%–37%
1994	Republican	Greg Ganske	111,935	Democratic	Neal Edward Smith	98,824	53%–46%
1996			133,419			119,790	52%–47%
1998			129,942			67,550	65%–34%
2000			169,267			101,112	61%–37%
2002		Tom Latham	115,430			90,784	55%–43%
2004			181,294			116,121	61%–39%
2006			120,512			89,994	57%–43%
2008			184,529			119,927	60%–39%
2010			152,588			74,300	64%–31%
2012		Steve King	200,831		Christie Vilsack	168,323	53%–45%
2014			169,141		Jim Mowrer	104,873	62%–38%
2016			226,719		Kim Weaver	142,993	61%–39%
2018			157,275		J. D. Scholten	146,737	50.3%–47.0%
2020		Randy Feenstra	237,369			144,761	62.0%–37.8%

Recent election results[]

2002[]

2002 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	115,430	54.77
	Democratic	John Norris	90,784	43.07
	Libertarian	Terry L. Wilson	2,952	1.40
	Independent	Jim Hennager	1,544	0.73
	No party	Others	64	0.03
Total votes			210,774	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

• Note: Jim Hennager ran on the Earth Federation Party platform on the ballot.

2004[]

2004 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	181,294	60.93
	Democratic	Paul W. Johnson	116,121	39.02
	No party	Others	151	0.05
Total votes			297,566	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2006[]

2006 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	121,650	57.19
	Democratic	Selden Spencer	90,982	42.77
	No party	Others	98	0.05
Total votes			212,730	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2008[]

2008 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	185,458	60.53
	Democratic	Becky Greenwald	120,746	39.41
	No party	Others	197	0.06
Total votes			306,401	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010[]

2010 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	152,588	65.62
	Democratic	Bill Maske	74,300	31.95
	Independent	Dan Lensing	5,499	2.37
	No party	Others	132	0.06
Total votes			232,519	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2012[]

2012 Iowa's 4th congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King*	200,063	51.69
	Democratic	Christie Vilsack	169,470	43.78
	Independent	Martin James Monroe	8,124	2.10
	No party	Others	226
Total votes			387,079	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2014[]

2014 Iowa's 4th congressional district election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (incumbent)	169,834	61.6
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	105,504	38.3
	Write-ins		295	0.1
Total votes			275,633	100
	Republican hold

2016[]

2016 Iowa's 4th congressional district election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (incumbent)	226,719	61.23
	Democratic	Kim Weaver	142,993	38.62
	Write-ins		547	0.15
Total votes			370,259	100
	Republican hold

2018[]

2018 Iowa's 4th congressional district election^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Steve King (incumbent)	157,275	50.33	−10.9
	Democratic	J. D. Scholten	146,737	46.96	+8.34
	Libertarian	Charles Aldrich	6,315	2.02	+2.02
	Independent	Edward Peterson	1,940	0.62	+0.62
	Write-ins		201	0.06	−0.09
Majority			10,538	3.37
Turnout			312,468	100
	Republican hold		Swing	–19.24

2020[]

Iowa's 4th congressional district, 2020^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randy Feenstra	237,369	62.0
	Democratic	J. D. Scholten	144,761	37.8
	Write-in		892	0.2
Total votes			383,022	100.0
	Republican hold

Historical district boundaries[]

See also[]

• Iowa's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References[]

General

Specific

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present