Two men with careers centered in Sioux City will face off in Iowa’s fourth congressional district in the General Election.
Republican Chris McGowan leads the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce and he was unopposed in yesterday’s Primary Election. After McGowan got President Trump’s endorsement in February, the other GOP hopefuls left the primary field. McGowan said over the next five months he’ll be listening intently to voters in the district.
“I’m focused on reflecting their values and being their voice,” McGowan said. “But to reflect their values, I have to begin by listening and making sure that I understand what their priorities are.”
Dave Dawson of Lawton, one of three Democrats in yesterday’s Primary, won with about 39% support. “The turnout for the Democratic Primary was better than it was back in 2018, the last time there was a contested Democratic Primary,” Dawson said. “The results show that people are fired up and ready for change in the fourth congressional district.”
Lawson said he’s the only candidate running in the fourth district this year who’s held town hall forums in each of the district’s 36 counties, where Republicans hold a sizable voter registration edge. “I personally invited Democrats, independents and Republicans to those events to get to know what the issues are facing the district and hear first hand from the voters what their concerns are about the direction with the country,” Dawson said, adding economic concerns are paramount with voters this year.
McGowan pledges to debate Dawson, if invited to do so, before the General Election. “I think that’s part of this process,” McGowan said. “It’s part of the great democratic experiment that the founders provided for this country and I will absolutely participate.” There has not been a debate between the major party candidates in the fourth congressional district since 2020 when Republican Randy Feenstra debated Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten.
(Additional reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)