Zach Lahn pulled off the dark horse victory in Iowa, in a hotly contested primary to replace retiring Governor Kim Reynolds. Upsetting Trump-endorsed Congressman Randy Feenstra, the political outsider Zach Lahn emerged victorious 37.8-37.0% over the favorite. This exceeded the 35% threshold needed to advance cleanly to the general election.
But the coalition behind Zach Land was instrumental to the success, as Iowa Evangelical influencers, Steve Deace and Bob Vander Plaats, backed Adam Steen in this race. Deace would switch his public endorsement on Sunday night. Nevertheless, while Steen’s campaign failed to gain traction, Lahn not only won over Evangelicals but also an emerging interest bloc in the Republican Party: Make America Healthy Again. Indeed, Lahn’s Christian Nationalist politics are compatible with a health-conscious populism, and this has insights that can be applied into other races across the country.
I already wrote of Lahn:
If Zach Lahn can come out of obscurity and win this primary, his profile as an America First Christian governor could make him eventual presidential material, assuming he wins the general election and governs well. Obviously, he wouldn’t be ready by 2028, but with Iowa being a critical state in the primary process, it’s not impossible that he could be on a shortlist of serious Republican presidential contenders in a few cycles.
But in the meantime, Zach Lahn is evidence that Evangelical voters generally do not care about candidates groveling to Israel and the Jewish lobby. Feenstra has done that and is the most liberal candidate in the race, with a considerable disadvantage and likely underwater among Evangelicals. This dispels the myth that Israel is a voting priority compared to other issues.
I’m called this shot early, admittedly, but it’s hard not to see Lahn as a model candidate as we move into a post-Trump world. This candidate even beat an ill-advised Trump endorsement. [Note: I think Trump was confident in Feenstra’s victory and wanted to back the winner, but he was unaware that Feenstra ran a bad campaign.] Also, Iowa voters seemed to coalesce around the rightwing candidate with the best chance of winning, explaining Adam Steen’s late underperformance. This, as voters is something to emulate also.
