BELLE PLAINE, Ia. — Iowa Republican Zach Lahn announced he will run for governor, promising an “Iowa First” agenda.
He said that agenda includes defending family farms by ensuring Iowans own Iowa farmland; fighting against abortion; and “making Iowa healthy again.”
“I believe big agriculture companies and big pharmaceutical companies have treated our farmers and our families not as neighbors, but as numbers,” he said in a speech announcing his candidacy. “I believe it’s far past the time we break up these monopolies, defend family farms, and demand accountability from corporations that harm our people.”
Republican Zach Lahn announced he will run for Iowa governor.
Lahn and his wife, Annie, have seven children. He launched his campaign at the family’s farm near Belle Plaine surrounded by friends, family and supporters who wore Donald Trump-style red hats emblazoned with the phrase “Iowa First” in white.
Lahn invoked the Republican president in his campaign launch speech, saying Trump “fought for America while the establishment fought him.”
“And Iowa deserves a governor with the same courage — someone who won’t bow, who won’t bend and who won’t run,” Lahn said.
Zach Lahn highlights rural preservation, education in campaign launch
Lahn and his wife founded Homeplace Ventures, a company that invests in agriculture, real estate and technology. Among their projects was a local preservation effort to revitalize the local King Theater in Belle Plaine.
“I’ve been working to restore my rural community for a long time,” Lahn said. “I’ve been putting my own skin in the game, because I believe in Iowa’s rural communities. I truly do.”
He said he repurchased and restored his family home, which his great-great-grandfather built more than a century ago, because he values the tradition and rural communities that make up the state.
“I did it because our history, our story and our heritage truly matter,” he said.
Lahn and his wife also co-founded Wonder, a nontraditional private school in Wichita that, according to local news reports, was funded by members of the Koch family.
Lahn told reporters he pursued that venture because “education is foundational to us as a people and to our culture. We have to get back to how do we serve students better.”
He said he believes in school choice as a foundational principle of freedom, and he promised that teachers who “push a political ideology in our classroom … will not teach in our state.”
He said he also believes he is the person to restore Iowa’s public school rankings to the top of the pack.
“There’s a reason people are looking for school choice, but we have to remember this: Iowa’s governor has got to be the number one advocate for Iowa’s kids. That includes our public school kids,” he said. “We can innovate in our schools. We can get indoctrination out of our schools. We can really focus on how to make our schools better for each student so it’s not just a one-size-fits-all program. And I know how to do that. I’ve done it myself. I’ve worked with people that have been extremely innovative in education. And I spent two years of my life just traveling the country, visiting the most innovative schools in existence. I can make Iowa schools number one in the nation again.”
Lahn also previously worked as the Montana state director for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group backed by Charles Koch, from 2014 to 2015. And he has worked in Republican politics as a campaign staffer.
Lahn touts ties to RFK Jr. and ‘MAHA’ movement
Conservative organization MAGA Nation hosted an evening event at Bevy’s Tavern in West Des Moines for Lahn that drew an eager crowd.
Dallas County Attorney and former Secretary of State Matt Schultz introduced Lahn, likening him to former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
“We need a Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy-type person to lead our state as ‘Iowa First.’ And Zach Lahn is that man,” said Schultz, who co-chaired Ramaswamy’s 2024 Iowa caucus campaign.
MAGA Nation co-founder Kelley Koch also spoke and touted Lahn’s “make Iowa healthy again” mentality. She said she’s a big supporter of United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and recalled sitting down for a long conversation with Lahn.
“He called RFK, and RFK answered,” Koch told the audience. “I was impressed. I was trying to be cool. But in my head, I’m going, ‘That was a serious flex.’ And based on the conversation between Zach and RFK … they were friendly. It was not the first rodeo.”
Lahn said he believes Kennedy “is fighting for the soul of our nation right now.”
He decried Iowa’s soaring cancer rates and said he would work with Kennedy to try to address it.
“As governor, I’m going to stand right next to him and fight for the health of my people,” he said.
Zach Lahn becomes fifth candidate to join GOP gubernatorial primary
Lahn’s announcement comes a week after U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra formally launched his gubernatorial campaign. Feenstra, an established figure in Iowa politics with a strong fundraising record, is expected to be the field’s frontrunner.
Also running are state Rep. Eddie Andrews, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen. State Sen. Mike Bousselot has formed an exploratory committee.
On the Democratic side, state Auditor Rob Sand and political consultant Julie Stauch are running.
Lahn said he will be the largest donor to his campaign and “can’t be bought” by outside groups. He said he expects to be able to compete financially with Feenstra and Sand, who both entered the race with sizeable war chests.
Feenstra’s gubernatorial exploratory committee announced raising more than $3.2 million shortly after its launch in May. And Sand had more than $8 million in the bank at the end of last year.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Feenstra speaks with Food Bank of Iowa’s Vice President of Food Acquisition and Advocacy Emily Shearer during a tour on Nov. 3, 2025, in Des Moines.
He told reporters he plans to get his message out through hard work. And, as a pilot, he planes to travel to every county in the state.
“I plan to take my plane to all 99 counties,” he said. “And under the wings, I put ‘Iowa first,’ because I want to remind people of what this is all about. It’s about prioritizing the needs of our people and understanding that we have unique needs in Iowa that we can solve if we come together. But it’s not going to happen if we leave our rural communities behind. It just won’t happen.”
Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy criticized Lahn’s entry into the race, saying in a statement that “Lahn would continue the last decade of disastrous one-party leadership that has led to a failing economy, underfunded schools, widespread government corruption, and a ban on abortion that restricts women’s care before they even know they’re pregnant.”
“Lahn’s entrance in the race confirms what we’ve known all along: Republicans are set to spend the next six months attacking each other, staking out unpopular positions, and reminding Iowans why they’re totally unfit to be governor,” she said.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Republican Zach Lahn running for Iowa governor in 2026
