Chris McGowan, the Republican campaigning for Iowa’s fourth congressional district seat, says the federal government must be prudent about waging war, but McGowan isn’t publicly commenting on President Trump’s decision to authorize the use of force against Iran.
“I’m not a member of congress,” McGowan said. “I don’t have access to all of the information that the administration and the Department of War have, that they made the decision first with Midnight Hammer and subsequently with Epic Fury.”
McGowan spoke with President Trump when Trump endorsed him in early February and mentioned a passage from Trump’s 2024 Inaugural Address.
“I said: ‘Sir, I believe the most seminal statement that you made…was the following: We’re going to build the most powerful military the world has ever seen and we’re going to judge our success not only by the wars we win, but perhaps more importantly by the wars we never get into,'” McGowan said.
That conversation happened three weeks before the U.S. and Israel launched a massive offensive against Iran. McGowan says as someone who grew up during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, he admires Reagan’s “peace through strength” mantra.
“I have every intention of following President Reagan’s mantra as it relates to the very conservative use of military force,” McGowan said, “and only when diplomacy and all other avenues have failed.” McGowan, the President of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, served in the Iowa National Guard and all five of his adult children are serving in the U.S. military.
If elected, McGowan will lobby to be appointed to the House Armed Services Committee. McGowan says his goal would be to make sure American soldiers have access to everything they need to be safe and effective.
“Now I also think that means the federal government has a responsibility to be extremely prudent i the use of arms,” McGowan said, “and using these young men and women.”
Dave Dawson, an assistant prosecutor in the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, in the Democrat running in the fourth congressional district.
Dawson says congress needs to take action and stop the war.
“An illegal, unconstitutional war in Iran that has not been authorized by congress and is putting American soldiers’ and sailors’ lives at risk. We need to end that, but you have to have congress stand up and say: ‘This is wrong,'” Dawson said. “And if you don’t have people in congress willing to stand up and say when the president is acting wrong, you’re going to end up with the same policy, so we have to make change through this election.”
Both Dawson and McGowan made their comments at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.
They are competing to replace Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra, who is not seeking reelection.