(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra says he’ll make an announcement in September about moving his exploratory campaign for governor to the next level.

“We wanted to wait ’til summer is over with, everybody’s on vacation, going to the fair. No one cares about politics at this point, but when kids go back to school, then everybody’s refocused,” Feenstra said today at the Iowa State Fair. “It’s just been so much fun traveling the state. You know, I live in northwest Iowa, so traveling to Davenport and Muscatine, Ottumwa and Fort Dodge, it’s just been a lot of fun.”

Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) spoke with reporters after flipping chops on the Iowa Pork Producers’ grill at the Iowa State Fair. (RI photo)

Governor Kim Reynolds announced in April that she would not run for re-election. In May Feenstra formed a campaign committee to explore a run for governor and quickly raised over a million dollars. In June, he announced a team of fundraisers, but has not held a public event to lay out his agenda. However, Feenstra has run campaign ads introducing himself across the entire state, not just the fourth congressional district that he’s represented since 2021. He spoke with reporters after flipping chops at the Iowa Pork Producers’ State Fair grill and described himself as an Iowa kid who wants to give back to his home state.

“To me it’s all about a vision of how we can grow economically, how we can keep our kids here in Iowa, and how we can create better education and health care,” Feenstra said, “you know, bring our state to new heights.”

Feenstra has spent several days at the Iowa State Fair. “It’s just been so much fun to be at the Fair, talking to people and so we’re going to make an announcement here hopefully in the next three weeks or so.”

Feenstra went to the Def Leopard concert at the State Fair last night and joked with reporters about the mullet he had in the 1980s during the height of the heavy metal band’s popularity.

Former State Representative Brad Sherman and current State Representative Eddie Andrews have announced campaigns for governor. State Senator Mike Bousselot has said he’s still in the exploratory phase and hasn’t made a decision yet about running.