A new Iowa poll is testing messages about a $4,000 tax credit to help families cover “approved education expenses,” and suggests that approach may save taxpayer money currently spent on children enrolled in public schools.

It’s not clear who commissioned the text survey, which has been in the field in recent days. The questionnaire points to Randy Feenstra’s campaign for governor, which is technically still in the “exploratory” phase, or some entity planning to support Feenstra for governor. Many of the questions use preferred Republican frames (“education freedom,” parental choice, “limiting government overreach”). The poll asks how important it is for Iowa’s next governor to “work to improve K-12 education,” and tests only one potential match-up: Randy Feenstra vs. Rob Sand. (Last month, Bleeding Heartland covered a different poll testing messages about Feenstra and Sand.)

Homeschoolers are an important Republican constituency, especially among social conservatives. Families who send their kids to private schools—almost all of which are Christian or Catholic—would also welcome an education tax credit, in addition to the taxpayer assistance they already receive through Iowa’s school voucher program (“education savings accounts”).

Feenstra has good reason to search for ways to shore up his support with the “education freedom” crowd. His underwhelming victory over a little-known 2024 primary challenger highlighted troubles on his right flank. He is unpopular among property rights activists who oppose the use of eminent domain to build Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed CO2 pipeline. He has skipped forums involving other Republican candidates for governor, including an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event in July. Feenstra’s exploratory committee has the resources to pay for opinion research.

A recent poll of “likely Republican voters,” conducted by American Viewpoint, found Feenstra “in a commanding position,” with 41 percent support in the governor’s race and no other GOP candidate above 5 percent. A cautionary note: American Viewpoint’s polls for Feenstra’s U.S. House campaign found the incumbent with a roughly 50-point lead over challenger Kevin Virgil before the 2024 GOP primary. Feenstra ended up winning the nomination in Iowa’s fourth Congressional district by a margin of 60.1 percent to 39.4 percent.

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What follows is the questionnaire of the new text poll (minus demographic questions), transcribed verbatim from screenshots provided by a respondent.

Note that the survey includes one ballot test for Iowa’s U.S. Senate race: Republican Ashley Hinson against Democrat Josh Turek. Hinson and Turek are also the only Senate candidates whose favorability is measured. That could indicate Hinson’s Senate campaign paid to include a question or two in a survey that is mostly about the governor’s race and state-level policies.

Alternatively, it could mean that whoever designed this poll expects the Senate race to come down to Hinson vs. Turek and wants to see whether Feenstra is performing better or worse than the likely Republican nominee for Senate.

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The following are a few names of people in lowa and nationally. For each one, please
indicate if you have an unfavorable or a favorable opinion of that person. If you have
never heard of that person or don’t have an opinion, please indicate that.

• Josh Turek
• Donald Trump
• Ashley Hinson
• Kim Reynolds
• Rob Sand
• Randy Feenstra

(options are Very Unfavorable, Somewhat Unfavorable, Somewhat Favorable, Very Favorable, No Opinion, or Never Heard Of)

Thinking about the country, generally speaking, do you disapprove or approve of the
job Donald Trump is doing as President? (Strongly disapprove, Somewhat disapprove, Somewhat approve, Strongly approve, Don’t know)

Now, thinking ahead to 2026, how likely are you to vote in next year’s election for
governor, U.S. Congress, state legislature, and other various offices in lowa? (Definitely will not vote, Probably will not vote, It’s fifty-fifty, Probably will vote, Definitely will vote, Don’t know)

If the 2026 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote if the
candidates were Josh Turek, Democrat, and Ashley Hinson, Republican? (Definitely Josh Turek, Probably Josh Turek, Probably Ashley Hinson, Definitely Ashley Hinson, Someone else/Other please specify, Undecided/Don’t know, Do not plan to vote)

And, if the 2026 election for lowa Governor were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Rob Sand, Democrat, and Randy Feenstra, Republican? (Definitely Rob Sand, Probably Rob Sand, Probably Randy Feenstra, Definitely Randy Feenstra, Someone else/Other please specify, Undecided/Don’t know, Do not plan to vote)

Now thinking about some issues facing lowa…In general, do you think K-12 education in lowa is heading in the wrong or right direction? (Wrong direction, Right direction, Don’t know)

How important is it that the next governor of lowa work to improve K-12 education in the state? (Not at all important, Not that important, Somewhat important, Very important, Extremely important, Don’t know)

Do you support or oppose parents, instead of the government, choosing the best school for their child(ren)? (Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose, Don’t know)

And, would you support or oppose a program in the state that would give K-12 families more choices and control over how they can educate their children and save taxpayers money? (Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose, Don’t know)

Thinking again about the election for governor next year, would you be less or more
likely to vote for a candidate if the candidate supported giving K-12 families more
choices and control over how they can educate their children and saving taxpayers
money? (Much less likely, Somewhat less likely, Somewhat more likely, Much more likely, No difference in likelihood, Don’t know)

lowa is seen nationally as a leader in education freedom. Should lawmakers in the state…? (Stop lowa’s progress and let other states catch up, Keep pushing forward and continue to lead by example, Don’t know)

As you may know, lowa has an education savings account program that lets K-12 families use funding for state-approved educational expenses like tuition, tutoring, and advanced coursework for their children. Based on what you know, do you have an unfavorable or a favorable opinion of lowa’s education savings account program? (Very unfavorable, Somewhat unfavorable, Somewhat favorable, Very favorable, Don’t know)

Thinking about tax credits, would you support or oppose lowa offering K-12 families a $4,000 tax credit that they could use for the educational purposes of a child? (Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose, Don’t know)

The following are a few statements about this potential tax credit. For each statement, please indicate if it makes you less or more favorable to offering K-12 families a $4,000 tax credit that they could use to help educate a child. (options for all are Much less favorable, Neither more nor less favorable, Somewhat less favorable, Somewhat more favorable, Much more favorable, Don’t know)

A new program providing K-12 families a tax credit would provide greater access to high-quality educational options.

Iowa spends about $17,000 in taxpayer money every year to educate each child at a public school. By giving families a $4,000 tax credit to help pay for approved education expenses, we can better educate our children while also saving taxpayers the remaining $13,000.

lowa has a lot of great schools, but they look the same as they did decades ago. A tax credit would help attract innovative and more modern schools to lowa.

An education tax credit would position lowa at the forefront of President Trump’s initiative to “support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.”

A tax credit would provide families with more education freedom while limiting government overreach.

Having read more, would you support or oppose lowa offering K-12 families a $4,000 tax credit that they could use for the educational purposes of a child?