Ryan Melton, the Democratic candidate in Iowa’s fourth congressional district the past two elections, has suspended his 2026 campaign.
Melton, who lives in Webster City, announced on social media it was a tough decision to exit the race, but Melton has been notified he’s losing his full time job in the private sector and needs to focus on finding a new job to support his family. Melton also said he’s dealing with a health concern he needs to prioritize and his campaign schedule had been hard on his six-year-old son.
Melton finished his 2024 race against Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra with nearly 33% of the vote, about 2.3 points better than his finish against Feenstra in 2022.
Melton says he doesn’t regret “a single minute” of his campaigning over the past several years and “it was an honor” to build up the Democratic Party in an area of the state that’s been dominated by the GOP.
Feenstra, who was reelected last year to a third term in the U.S. House, has set up a committee to explore a run for governor in 2026. Republican Lynn Evans, a member of the state senate, announced last month that he’s exploring a campaign in Iowa’s fourth congressional district.