Republican · Iowa's 4th District · 2026
Chris McGowan
McGowan's six children are the fifth generation of his family to call northwest Iowa home.
Biography
Chris McGowan was born in Sioux City, Iowa.1 His children's roots in northwest Iowa reach back five generations.2 He has six children, and at the Iowa State Fair in August 2026 he told the crowd that five were serving in the U.S. military.3 At 17, he met Ronald Reagan; he now cites Reagan's peace through strength approach as a model for making decisions about the use of military force.3
McGowan earned his bachelor's degree at St. John's University in Minnesota, with a double major in government and management.1 He served in the Iowa Air National Guard and worked as a Fortune 500 account executive before law school.1 His law degree is from Ave Maria School of Law, then in Ann Arbor, Michigan.1 While studying there, he worked with the civil and criminal divisions of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit.1
He joined The Siouxland Initiative in 2003 and became president of both that organization and the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce in 2011.1 His economic development work has extended across Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota for more than two decades.1
His campaign priorities include strengthening the economy, reducing wasteful spending, securing the southern border and supporting national defense.2 On military force, he says the country should act prudently, require a substantial and imminent threat, and exhaust diplomacy first.3 He is the Republican nominee facing Democrat Dave Dawson in 2026.3