T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Ryan Rhodes, a Republican candidate for the 4th District in the United State House of Representatives, makes his case for why he is the best choice for voters during the Pachyderm Herd meeting at Legends American Grill in Marshalltown on Friday. The seat is currently held by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), who is running for governor.

Immigration and fraud took center stage at the Pachyderm Herd meeting at Legends on Friday when Republican candidate Ryan Rhodes of Ames stopped by to explain why he is the best candidate.

The founder of the Iowa Tea Party and former senior strategist for Ben Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign, in July 2025, he saw the chance to keep the 4th District of the United States House of Representatives conservative. The seat is currently held by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), who is running for governor. Rhodes will face fellow Republican candidates Chris McGowan, Christian Schlaefer and Kyle Larsen in the June primary election.

“What I think of this race, and this is what’s so important, is we have not, quite frankly, been represented in this Fourth Congressional district,” he said. “I have heard from a lot of people they have not seen their representative, they do not hear from him and they’re not getting the strength that can come from a strong Republican. This is one of the most Republican districts in the country, and they deserve somebody who is going to go out, who is going to be a voice against all of the onslaught.”

As an example, Rhodes mentioned a conversation about libraries, and what he sees as they are “going after the kids.” If the libraries cannot get the kids, he said they bring in people who do not identify with American values. This is because the country has been under attack since the administration of President Barack Obama, Rhodes added.

What is happening in Minneapolis and New York City is “fundamentally un-American,” he said. Congress voted to refund a $6 billion refugee package. The problem is people are brought into the country “from cradle to grave,” and are given everything they need, he said. They do not believe they should work, because President Joe Biden said they could come here for free, according to Rhodes.

“That mentality is not sustainable for our country,” he said. “That is what is going on in Minnesota where they’re stealing.”

Rhodes referred to the $9 billion of fraud within Minnesota’s social welfare programs. He said that is equal to the entire budget of the state of Iowa. That is the tip of the iceberg, just the numbers the public knows about, Rhodes added.

“When people come here and they have that fundamental ‘gimme, gimme, gimme’ idea, these are not the people from old,” he said. “They came here to rub two nickels together, went and worked in the hotel . . . and worked themselves up and bought the hotel. This is not the same type of person who fought and clawed to go across and be an American.”

What makes the American people great is Christian morality and rugged individualism, Rhodes said. He described immigrants from Afghanistan, Somalia and Palestine as “Islamocommunists” who are “hell bent” on changing the country and asking the people to pay for it.

Rhodes said they have gained political power through the election of Congressional representatives such as Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and that has to be pulled back. When Democrat-run states have excessive fraud, it hurts Iowa, he said, because the state manages its budget well.

Rhodes asked the Pachyderm crowd how many people wanted someone to go to jail for a number of reasons such as fraud or conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein, and roughly 10 hands were raised.

“Unfortunately, we have not had a lot of strong Republicans who are fighting to stand on Donald Trump’s agenda,” he said. “. . . We need somebody who will go out and fight for all of these things, because when that money is going elsewhere, they’re defrauding us.”

Before taking some questions from the audience, Rhodes said they have a country to save, one to pass on to children and grandchildren.

“The Democrats are hell bent on destroying it, so it doesn’t even look like America, it looks like everywhere else,” he said.

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