Iowa GOP nominee pulls off upset after critiquing "big ag"
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Businessman Zach Lahn. Screenshot: KCCI/Gray Media
Zach Lahn won the Iowa GOP gubernatorial nomination after doing something almost no Republican in this state does: criticize "big agriculture," per The Washington Post.
Why it matters: Once shied away from, the public health impact of Iowa's industrial farming is on the ballot for both sides of the aisle.
Who he is: Lahn grew up near Sioux City and graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder. He worked for congressional offices in Montana and Colorado and helped lead Montana's Americans for Prosperity chapter.
- He later purchased a farm in Belle Plaine, Iowa, and co-founded a private school in Wichita, Kansas, before moving back to Iowa in 2023, per the Kansas Reflector.
Zoom in: Lahn stood apart from the other GOP candidates by aligning with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement, per the Post.
- He blamed part of Iowa's cancer surge on pesticide exposure and opposed shielding pesticide manufacturers from certain lawsuits.
- He also opposed Trump's executive order protecting glyphosate, a chemical found in Roundup, a popular weedkiller, which has been blamed for causing cancer.
Yes, but: Lahn's public health stances don't stop at criticizing pesticides.
- He also said he would remove all COVID shots from the market, and end childhood vaccine requirements to enroll in Iowa schools, per Radio Iowa.
The other side: Rob Sand, the Democrat's nominee, has also committed to combating Iowa's growing cancer rates, including denying immunity for chemical companies.
Our thought bubble: The primary was the first major election without the Des Moines Register's historic Iowa Poll to offer insight.
- It's difficult to discern what contributed to Lahn's win, including whether it was a vote for MAHA, a vote against U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, or something else altogether.