DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Army veteran and businessman Bret Richards became the first official candidate on the June 2 Republican primary ballot in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District after submitting nomination papers with the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office today.
This is the first day of the filing period, which ends March 13. Republican candidates in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District are required to gather 1,874 signatures, which is one percent of the total number of votes cast for the party’s 2018 gubernatorial nominee, Gov. Kim Reynolds. GOP candidates must also gather eligible voters’ signatures equal to at least 2 percent of the party’s vote in at least 20 of the district’s 39 counties.
“Today’s event was the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication by our campaign’s supporters, but it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise. Our team had gathered more than double the necessary signatures, topped the 2-percent requirement in 26 counties and collected signatures in every county before mid-August last year,” Richards said. “Today, we submitted 5,222 signatures, which included the campaign meeting the minimum signature requirement in 33 of the 39 counties.”
He said that broad support is “proof that voters want a representative focused on working with others to fix America’s health care system, secure our borders and make immigration laws work, and start solving the debt crisis.”
“I’ve met so many people who know the people, farms, businesses, towns and cities of our district are paying a steep price because career politicians can’t stop bickering with each other,” Richards said. “They want a government that will start solving our country’s problems and move us forward with more and better jobs for young people and greater opportunities for all of us. That’s what I’ll focus on every day when I’m elected.”
Richards served in the U.S. Army before returning to his hometown to work in his family-owned business, which included a chain of convenience stores. A former mayor of Irwin, he also serves as board chair of the Manning Regional Medical Center.