{"id":44350,"date":"2026-08-14T12:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44350"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:54:13","slug":"iowa-republican-zach-lahn-confronts-curiosity-and-concerns-in-outsider-bid-for-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44350","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Republican Zach Lahn confronts curiosity, and concerns, in outsider bid for governor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">ARLINGTON, Iowa &#8212; <\/span>Farmer Tim Burrack had concerns about the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/lahn-feenstra-trump-iowa-maha-kennedy-ea3de424608b7379791da0608a431169\">Republican nominee for Iowa governor<\/a> \u2014 and he wasn&#8217;t the only one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn&#8217;t know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer \u201ccame out of nowhere&#8221; with a surprise GOP primary win over the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-endorsement-pam-evette-randy-feenstra-304d74d4042e7ad43b00c4d125b08c8e\">candidate endorsed<\/a> by President <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>. So when Lahn came to his farm last week, Burrack questioned him on his approach to agriculture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI hit him pretty hard,\u201d said Burrack, who was considering whether to vote for Lahn in November or not vote at all. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It wasn&#8217;t the first skeptical audience for the self-described \u201cchange candidate\u201d in the state led by Republicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn won the June primary even though an \u201centire establishment was set up against me,\u201d he said. He criticizes politicians in both parties, accusing them of being bought by corporate interests. His bid for governor will test how an anti-establishment conservative fares with a general electorate \u2014 and with traditional Republicans \u2014 a decade after <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-rnc-republicans-maga-outsider-9991ff86641868e4434129fa491502c3\">Trump\u2019s own brand of populism<\/a> reshaped the GOP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">While Iowa Republicans have an electoral advantage, Lahn entered the general election with a lower public profile than his Democratic opponent, state Auditor <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iowa-governor-2026-election-democrat-rob-sand-98064557cfa2c5ba290e48f0d5799a4e\">Rob Sand<\/a>. Democrats see an <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iowa-battleground-democrats-vance-trump-2026-election-a3fcfb9bffc6dd3d99db09a9f91e177d\">opportunity to win this cycle<\/a> in once-competitive Iowa, where high costs, health clinic closures, manufacturing job losses and a <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-soybean-farmers-china-trade-tariffs-brazil-9663759ac3c9c7360bd5f23cb84180f0\">struggling agricultural economy<\/a> weigh on voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn talks about bringing a \u201cdifferent message\u201d to Iowans who aren&#8217;t satisfied with the trajectory of Iowa&#8217;s small towns, public education or cancer rates, even after years of Republican control of state government. But only three months before Election Day, Lahn acknowledged he needs to keep getting out in front of people to address their questions and concerns. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI think, for the most part, a lot of people just have never heard my message,\u201d Lahn said after the event at Burrack&#8217;s farm in Arlington. \u201cThe more we\u2019ve met with people, the more they understand where our priorities lie, the more they say, \u2018We are with you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Some of Lahn&#8217;s ideas challenge the Republican Party&#8217;s status quo. Among them is his approach to agriculture and embrace of <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/maha-report-children-health-food-rfk-f0c624d30da939fc9cca09687f8a4273\">the \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d movement<\/a>, which has prompted questions in the state that&#8217;s among the nation&#8217;s top producers of corn, soybeans, red meat and ethanol. Lahn promotes regenerative farming; emphasizes a link between high nitrate-loaded water and cancer; and questions the safety of agrochemicals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Before Lahn took the stage in Arlington to talk agriculture, farmer Lance Lillibridge, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, told the couple hundred Iowans there that the goal was to \u201cget the air clear.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In front of a huge American flag and sandwiched between two freshly washed John Deere tractors, Lahn said, \u201cWe farm a bit weird\u201d on his own Iowa acres, growing oats, alfalfa and einkorn along with corn and beans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But he told the crowd he wants to fund farmers\u2019 efforts to diversify their operations, not force Iowans to farm like him. He said targeting \u201cbig ag\u201d means filing antitrust lawsuits against corporate conglomerates that sell seed and fertilizer and taxing out-of-state investors consolidating Iowa acres, not stepping on family farms. He wants to see more incentives to improve water quality but wouldn\u2019t try to outright ban agrochemicals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Burrack, like Lahn, says that they won\u2019t agree on everything. But after talking with Lahn, he called himself a supporter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">At another stop, a few dozen faces crowded at the back of a coffee shop in Hampton, Iowa, just after the lunch rush. Many of them were familiar with each other but less so with the candidate they came to see. Among them were Jay and Sally Van Wert, retired farmer and teacher, who said Lahn seemed like a nice guy, but they didn&#8217;t know much else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Several Iowans attending some of Lahn&#8217;s first publicly advertised events since the primary said they only knew what they\u2019ve seen in advertisements from Sand&#8217;s campaign. The ads call Lahn a \u201cpart-time Iowan&#8221; and reference dozens of occasions where Lahn piloted his private plane to and from Kansas since launching his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIs he going all the time to Kansas?\u201d asked Larry Streicher, 84, a Republican farmer in the front row in Arlington. \u201cWe don\u2019t know anything about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn said he left Iowa for college like so many others but wanted to come home, amplifying a nostalgia for Iowa culture and heritage that resonated with voters, not unlike Trump&#8217;s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d message.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He left Iowa again to start <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/general-news-1a308b49302a4792b8b02b3be4a67fe2\">a private school funded by the Koch family,<\/a> which opened in Kansas in 2018. He co-founded the school with his now-wife, Annie, who had been married to Chase Koch, son of conservative billionaire Charles Koch. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn told the crowds he and Annie moved into their Belle Plaine, Iowa, homestead in 2023 after finishing renovations. Lahn bought the farm that had been in his family for a century but sold it after his great-grandmother died. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Douglas Puffett, a farmer from Strawberry Point and member of his county\u2019s GOP central committee, said Lahn&#8217;s story is like so many other Iowans\u2019 and his vision for Iowa is driven by what drew him back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cThat\u2019s how you inspire the next generation,\u201d said the 40-year-old, who appreciates that Lahn, also 40, is young and has young kids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn has explained that trips to Kansas are due to his blended family, which includes children from his and Annie\u2019s previous marriages. He doesn&#8217;t comment on whether he would travel or use taxpayer resources to do so if elected governor, saying it would not impact his ability to govern.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Puffett, who attended Lahn\u2019s Arlington event, thinks 10 years of Republican trifecta have given Sand an opening to appeal to people who might be unhappy with the \u201cRepublican establishment,\u201d he said, but Lahn \u201cstacks up really nice\u201d with his calls for reform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI think it\u2019s time to kind of roll over the leadership of the Republican Party here in Iowa,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Gov. Kim Reynolds\u2019 <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iowa-governor-kim-reynolds-84052fdcc9fdca605b15dc256e0b30ff\">decision to not seek a third term<\/a> gave Republicans their <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iowa-governor-2026-reynolds-primary-5df02df6b8e1e1ee18340d49925d66df\">first wide-open primary<\/a> since 2010, and five candidates were on the ballot. Lahn overtook U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra by less than a percentage point, or about 1,650 more votes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Lahn told crowds that he only met Reynolds after the primary, a signal of his distance from Iowa politics. Speaking at the state party\u2019s fundraiser in July, he joked about all the donors who \u201chaven\u2019t been returning my calls\u201d all being in one room. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Since his primary win, Lahn has met with party leaders and Iowa&#8217;s prominent industry groups. His campaign spent the summer ramping up fundraising, staff and organizing infrastructure. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who is the majority leader of House Republicans, said there may be some differences of opinion or \u201ccuriosities, not concerns&#8221; about Lahn&#8217;s positions, but added that&#8217;s always the case. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kaufmann met Lahn earlier this year, voted for him in June and said there&#8217;s been a \u201cfull embrace\u201d of the nominee. He said Lahn is not a traditional candidate, but that&#8217;s what makes his campaign energizing for Republicans who are \u201cconstantly craving new leadership.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cI think it began back in 2016 with President Trump,\u201d Kaufmann said. \u201cRepublicans don\u2019t rest on our laurels.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ARLINGTON, Iowa &#8212; Farmer Tim Burrack had concerns about the Republican nominee for Iowa governor \u2014 and he wasn&#8217;t the only one. The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn&#8217;t know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer \u201ccame out of nowhere&#8221; with a surprise GOP primary win over the candidate endorsed by President Donald&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7abf6374-e0ed-4ab8-a519-fd185e8a2d75\/wirestory_c71779c71f392d0a5baa03ec204ef2ac_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}