Almost 50 Marshall County Republicans heard from two gubernatorial candidates on Friday.

United States Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) was the keynote speaker at the annual Marshall County Republican Fundraiser. Following his speech, state Rep. Eddie Andrews (R-Johnston), who has ties to Marshalltown, spoke to attendees who gathered at the American Legion.

State Rep. David Blom (R-Marshalltown) introduced both Republican candidates and said the Marshall County Republicans are not endorsing anyone.

Feenstra primarily focused on recent actions of Congress and interactions with President Donald Trump.

“Promises made, promises kept,” he said. “We promised we’re going to shut down the border, and I want to tell you today, that border is absolutely shut down. [Trump] said we’re going to reduce the debt . . . [Trump] also promised we’re going to lower taxes.”

Feenstra began talking about the “big, beautiful bill” and the importance of passing it. He said it will not just benefit the wealthy. If it is not passed, the country will experience the biggest tax increase in history; if it is passed, it will be the largest tax reduction.

“It increases the child tax credit to $2,500,” Feenstra. “It dramatically increases the ability for manufacturing and ag to grow in this country, to grow in this state.”

He remembered a visit he had with pharmaceutical representatives in Boston, and stressed the importance of bringing the manufacture of pharmaceuticals to the United States. Feenstra said the “big, beautiful bill” will also make the country energy independent and added “everything” was shut down under the President Joe Biden administration. The bill will open what was shut down.

“So we can drill, baby, drill and we can again get oil, and not buy it from Venezuela and not buy it from China,” he said. “These are huge things.”

Feenstra spoke about the $37 trillion national debt, and added the bill will cut $1.7 trillion of spending which helps bring the country closer to a balanced budget. He praised the tariffs Trump implemented which will generate $2 trillion to help pay down the debt. According to Feenstra, the tariffs brought every single country to the table to negotiate.

“That is how we’re going to reduce our debt and get back to fiscal responsibility,” he said.

Feenstra closed his 10-minute speech by praising Iowa and the “diamond” communities within the state.

“We’ve got great communities like Marshalltown,” Feenstra said. “. . . We’ve got to continue to keep them growing. We must continue to make sure our kids stay in this great state. Not other states, this state. . . . We’ve got to keep our conservative values – reducing government, getting rid of the swamp and it’s out there.”

Andrews

Andrews, who previously worked as an engineer for Emerson, told attendees he is not the only good candidate for the governor’s seat. While the other candidates are good, he believes he will be better.

He said he checks all of the boxes – pro-life, First and Second Amendments supporter and staunch defender of property rights. The latter is one of Andrews campaign platforms.

What first got Andrews into politics was mental health after watching his son struggle with it. He wanted to fix the system, and the legislature has passed 20 bills to help that effort.

“I think that really goes to the heart of why I’m there,” Andrews said. “I’m not there to be somebody. . . . I’m there to do the right thing.”

About a week before Gov. Kim Reynolds announced her decision to not run for the seat again, he felt a pull to run. A person encouraged Andrews to pray about the possibility before Reynolds’ announcement.

“[Referring] to faith you know, you can’t just say if you go, it’s either zero or 100,” he said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts. If you’re going, you’re going all the way.”

Andrews said a member of Trump’s team called him to talk about the plan he would have for the governor seat, and Andrews had not made his announcement yet. He added he is the only Republican in the Iowa Legislature and in his district who runs in a purple district and wins, who draws the votes of conservatives and liberals.

“Some of my colleagues tell me ‘I cannot tell you the number of people who come through that door, who are liberal as all get out and they have a Eddie Andrews hat on,'” Andrews said, adding he believes that is due to God’s grace.

He closed by talking about the importance of improving the educational system.

“I have a plan called Back to Number One,” Andrews said. “Seriously. When I was a kid, I remember when Iowa was number one in education. A bad year we were number three, right? . . . We have to get the things that we used to do back in schools. Take out Common Core by the root. How many know that we have more administrators than teachers? That’s a scary thought. Just take a comprehensive look at how we educate our kids.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.