Ryan Melton is again challenging U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra for his seat in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

Melton, of Webster City, has been a vocal critic of incumbent Feenstra’s support for carbon capture pipelines and his taking of tens of thousands of dollars from pipeline advocates, according to a media release from Melton’s campaign.

“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,” Melton said.

He vows 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, his media release states.

“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 was the Democratic nominee in both 2022 and 2024. In a media release, he said he 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.

The challenger has also been openly critical of Feenstrat in “his avoidance of public pre-announced town halls, the fact he isn’t writing bills that become law, his unwillingness to call President (Donald) 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.”

He added, “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 holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Iowa State University and a Master’s degree in U.S. History from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Laura, have two sons, Lincoln and Nigel.