ARLINGTON, Iowa (AP) 鈥� Farmer Tim Burrack had concerns about the 鈥� and he wasn’t the only one.
The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn’t know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer 鈥渃ame out of nowhere” with a surprise GOP primary win over the by President . So when Lahn came to his farm last week, Burrack questioned him on his approach to agriculture.
鈥淚 hit him pretty hard,鈥� said Burrack, who was considering whether to vote for Lahn in November or not vote at all.
It wasn’t the first skeptical audience for the self-described 鈥渃hange candidate鈥� in the state led by Republicans.
Lahn won the June primary even though an 鈥渆ntire establishment was set up against me,鈥� 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 鈥� and with traditional Republicans 鈥� a decade after reshaped the GOP.
While Iowa Republicans have an electoral advantage, Lahn entered the general election with a lower public profile than his Democratic opponent, state Auditor . Democrats see an in once-competitive Iowa, where high costs, health clinic closures, manufacturing job losses and a weigh on voters.
Lahn talks about bringing a 鈥渄ifferent message鈥� to Iowans who aren’t satisfied with the trajectory of Iowa’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.
鈥淚 think, for the most part, a lot of people just have never heard my message,鈥� Lahn said after the event at Burrack’s farm in Arlington. 鈥淭he more we鈥檝e met with people, the more they understand where our priorities lie, the more they say, 鈥榃e are with you.鈥欌��
In farm country, Lahn has to answer for his positions on 鈥榖ig ag鈥�
Some of Lahn’s ideas challenge the Republican Party’s status quo. Among them is his approach to agriculture and embrace of , which has prompted questions in the state that’s among the nation’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.
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 鈥済et the air clear.”
In front of a huge American flag and sandwiched between two freshly washed John Deere tractors, Lahn said, 鈥淲e farm a bit weird鈥� on his own Iowa acres, growing oats, alfalfa and einkorn along with corn and beans.
But he told the crowd he wants to fund farmers鈥� efforts to diversify their operations, not force Iowans to farm like him. He said targeting 鈥渂ig ag鈥� 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鈥檛 try to outright ban agrochemicals.
Burrack, like Lahn, says that they won鈥檛 agree on everything. But after talking with Lahn, he called himself a supporter.
Lahn pushes back on claims that he’s a 鈥榩art-time Iowan鈥�
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’t know much else.
Several Iowans attending some of Lahn’s first publicly advertised events since the primary said they only knew what they鈥檝e seen in advertisements from Sand’s campaign. The ads call Lahn a 鈥減art-time Iowan” and reference dozens of occasions where Lahn piloted his private plane to and from Kansas since launching his campaign.
鈥淚s he going all the time to Kansas?鈥� asked Larry Streicher, 84, a Republican farmer in the front row in Arlington. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know anything about him.鈥�
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’s 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� message.
He left Iowa again to start 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.
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.
Douglas Puffett, a farmer from Strawberry Point and member of his county鈥檚 GOP central committee, said Lahn’s story is like so many other Iowans鈥� and his vision for Iowa is driven by what drew him back.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how you inspire the next generation,鈥� said the 40-year-old, who appreciates that Lahn, also 40, is young and has young kids.
Lahn has explained that trips to Kansas are due to his blended family, which includes children from his and Annie鈥檚 previous marriages. He doesn’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.
Puffett, who attended Lahn鈥檚 Arlington event, thinks 10 years of Republican trifecta have given Sand an opening to appeal to people who might be unhappy with the 鈥淩epublican establishment,鈥� he said, but Lahn 鈥渟tacks up really nice鈥� with his calls for reform.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time to kind of roll over the leadership of the Republican Party here in Iowa,” he said.
A grassroots campaign receives 鈥榝ull embrace鈥� from the establishment
Gov. Kim Reynolds鈥� gave Republicans their 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.
Lahn told crowds that he only met Reynolds after the primary, a signal of his distance from Iowa politics. Speaking at the state party鈥檚 fundraiser in July, he joked about all the donors who 鈥渉aven鈥檛 been returning my calls鈥� all being in one room.
Since his primary win, Lahn has met with party leaders and Iowa’s prominent industry groups. His campaign spent the summer ramping up fundraising, staff and organizing infrastructure.
State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who is the majority leader of House Republicans, said there may be some differences of opinion or 鈥渃uriosities, not concerns” about Lahn’s positions, but added that’s always the case.
Kaufmann met Lahn earlier this year, voted for him in June and said there’s been a 鈥渇ull embrace鈥� of the nominee. He said Lahn is not a traditional candidate, but that’s what makes his campaign energizing for Republicans who are 鈥渃onstantly craving new leadership.”
鈥淚 think it began back in 2016 with President Trump,鈥� Kaufmann said. 鈥淩epublicans don鈥檛 rest on our laurels.”
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