Ryan Melton announces 2026 Congressional campaign in Iowa’s 4th District

Ryan Melton

WEBSTER CITY — Ryan Melton officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District Friday. Melton, the Democratic nominee in both 2022 and 2024, is launching his 2026 campaign after improving his performance in 33 of the district’s 36 counties while remaining steady in the other three in 2024.  He vowed to continue his rejection of any corporate PAC money in order to speak truth to power without hesitation, and to remain an independent thinker not reliant on oligarchs, D.C. consultants or party talking points in order to put the people first.

“Our district deserves a representative who listens to its constituents and acts in their best interests. Right now, we have a representative in Randy Feenstra who relies mostly on out-of-state corporate PAC money, which has rendered him unable to represent his constituents because he’s beholden to the billionaires,” said Melton. “From tackling Iowa's rising cancer rates and decline in water quality, to opposing the abuse of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines, to challenging the status quo economically that has left so many of us in the 4th behind, I'm committed to bringing real change to our communities that for far too long have been neglected by our representatives in Congress.”

Melton has been a vocal critic of incumbent Randy Feenstra’s support for carbon capture pipelines and his taking of tens of thousands of dollars from pipeline advocates, his avoidance of public pre-announced town halls, the fact he isn’t writing bills that become law, his unwillingness to call Pres. Trump out on his trade war actions that close off our farmers’ market access and threaten the closure of our small businesses or the budget he supports that would cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits, and his rejection of federal community improvement earmark money that we sorely need.

“While Congressional Republicans in Iowa’s other three districts have brought back millions of dollars to their communities via the federal community improvement program, Feenstra leaves federal tax dollars that come out of our checks on the table while our infrastructure crumbles and our towns shrink from lack of funding,” Melton said.

Campaign Priorities:

• Public Health: Addressing Iowa’s rising cancer incidence rates and worsening water quality while advocating for Medicare for All and the saving of rural health care and mental health care facilities
• Rural Revitalization: Implementing policies to combat population decline and stimulate economic growth while defending workers’ rights in our communities, pushing back on the 40 years of hollowing out of our district under Iowa Republican Party control
• Property Rights: Opposing projects that threaten landowner rights, such as the proposed CO2 pipelines that would require eminent domain use
• Transparent, Representative Governance: Ensuring that elected officials are accountable and act in the best interests of their constituents instead of the oligarchs, by pushing to end Citizens United to rid our politics of corporate money

For more information about Ryan Melton's campaign, visit www.meltonforiowa.com or email him at melton4iowa@gmail.com. 

About Ryan Melton
Ryan Melton is a dedicated community advocate from Webster City, Iowa. With a background in people leadership in the insurance industry, Melton brings a pragmatic approach to problem-solving and a deep commitment to serving the people of Iowa's 4th District. Melton holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Iowa State University and an MA degree in US History from The University of Kansas. He and wife Laura have two sons, Lincoln and Nigel.