Clint Twedt-Ball, co-founder of the Cedar Rapids nonprofit Matthew 25, entered the race for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District this week. Twedt-Ball, a first-time candidate, joins Kathy Dotler, another first-time candidate and the former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College, in seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge three-term incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson in next year’s general election.
“We can do so much better,” Twedt-Ball said in a video posted on social media. “I believe in the possibilities of what community can solve together.”
Twedt-Ball grew up in the western Iowa town of Harlan, and in his video he talks about the influence of growing up in a tight-knit community, where his father was a Methodist pastor.
“I learned from a young age the value of community and coming together even when times were tough,” he said. “We came together to create parks, to help our neighbors, to do things that would be supportive of the whole community.”
Twedt-Ball and his brother Courtney followed their father’s path, both becoming ministers of the United Methodist Church. In 2006, Twedt-Ball asked his brother to join him in a new ministry in the Taylor neighborhood in southwest Cedar Rapids. Working out of the basement of the Trinity United Methodist Church, they started Matthew 25. The nonprofit’s name refers to a passage in the New Testament in which Jesus stressed the importance of helping those in need.
At first their work focused on providing free music lessons and reading mentorship, as well as free lunches during summer vacation, to students at Taylor Elementary School. Following the 2008 flood that devastated much of Cedar Rapids, including the Taylor neighborhood, Matthew 25’s role in the community grew quickly.
The nonprofit began organizing efforts to help Cedar Rapidians recover the flood, and in 2009, Matthew 25 launched its “Block by Block,” program, in which volunteers worked with homeowners to repair flood damage, doing rehab work throughout the Taylor and Time Check neighborhoods, and concentrating efforts — as the name suggests — on one block at a time.
Matthew 25 went on to buy 18 lots from the City of Cedar Rapids in which homes were destroyed by the flood and could not be rebuilt because the locations were no longer insurable. They used that acreage to establish Cultivate Hope Urban Farm, Iowa’s first urban farm.
The farm established a CSA program to provide fresh produce to local residents, and in 2018, six years after the first crops were planted, Cultivate Hope Urban Farm opened a farmers market. That same year, Matthew 25 opened Groundswell Cafe, the state’s first cafe based on a pay-it-forward ethic, featuring dishes using fresh, organic produce from its farm. In 2022, the nonprofit continued its work addressing food insecurity in Cedar Rapids by opening the Cultivate Hope Corner Store, a grocery store intended to provide access to fresh food at affordable prices.
Matthew 25 has also continued its work assisting homeowners with repairs and improvements, both by offering free repairs after the 2020 derecho and through its annual Transform Week, in which volunteers work on the homes of low-income families and individuals.
Twedt-Ball, who served as Matthew 25’s executive director until he stepped down at the end of last month, said in his video that the nonprofit allows people to put their “faith in action.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening in Congress,” he continued. “I see people that kick the can down the road, that yell at each other and scream at each other, or take resources away from people that are most in need.”
In an emailed statement on Thursday, Twedt-Ball criticized Hinson for putting loyalty to Trump and Republican Party priorities ahead of addressing the problems Iowans face, and for joining her fellow House Republicans in ending legislative work early this week to start a month-long recess.
“For too long, politicians in Washington have played dangerous games with our lives,” he said. “Hinson has reversed course on all of her campaign promises: to lower costs for working families, to protect Medicaid and Social Security for our seniors, and to release the Epstein files. The idea that Hinson would fly home to Iowa without even attempting to find solutions to these problems is a slap in the face to every voter that trusted her.”
In the email, Twedt-Ball announced his campaign had raised over $100,000 in its first 48 hours. While that is a good start for a first-time candidate, it’s less than a tenth of what Hinson has raised so far in this election cycle.
According to the Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports published last week, Hinson has raised $1,540,262 during this election cycle. The report covers the second quarter of 2025, from March 1 to June 30, and during those three months, the Hinson campaign took in $853,757, and spent $255,709. Hinson finished the month of June with $2,825,332 on hand.
The first Democrat to enter the race in the 2nd District this year, former U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau, dropped his bid last month, citing difficulties in fundraising. According to the FEC reports, Techau had raised a total of $142,340 in the three months of his campaign.
Kathy Dotler did not declare her candidacy until this month, after the close of the FEC reporting period, so her campaign was not included in last week’s reports.
“I’m honored that my neighbors in the 2nd Congressional District and people across Iowa are supporting our campaign,” Twedt-Ball said the email. “As a pastor, some of the most challenging moments of my ministry have been working with families who don’t know where their kid’s next meal will come from or how they’ll cover essential medical expenses. Families in Iowa deserve an advocate who will put them first — not their party bosses.”
