Lahn upsets Trump-backed Feenstra in Iowa governor primary

Businessman and farmer Zach Lahn defeated Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa’s Republican primary for governor Tuesday, rejecting President Donald Trump’s late endorsement and setting up a November race against Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand.

NBC News and CBS News projected Lahn as the winner after Feenstra conceded late Tuesday night. With 99% of the expected vote counted, Lahn had 37.8% to Feenstra’s 37%, according to NBC News. Former state government official Adam Steen was in a distant third with about 15%, while state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman also ran.

The result marked the first time in this midterm cycle that a Trump-backed candidate for governor, the House or the Senate has lost a primary, NBC News reported. Trump endorsed Feenstra last week, calling him “MAGA all the way,” and Feenstra used the endorsement in a closing campaign ad. Feenstra, who did not attend primary debates, had been viewed by many observers as a frontrunner and was backed by several leading Iowa Republicans.

Feenstra conceded surrounded by his family, saying the outcome “wasn’t what I wanted,” CBS News reported.

Lahn, a sixth-generation Iowan, owns a family farm and runs Homeplace Ventures, an agriculture, real estate and technology investment firm. He previously worked for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity and campaigned on a populist platform he called “Iowa First.” He has said he wants to increase local ownership of farmland, reduce the number of young Iowans leaving the state and address Iowa’s high cancer rate.

“I fear every day we are losing the Iowa we love,” Lahn said in his victory speech, criticizing out-of-state investors who he said “treat Iowa land like it’s a commodity instead of our inheritance.”

Lahn aligned himself with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and was endorsed last year by MAHA Action, a group founded by Kennedy allies. He also received support from Turning Point Action last week and from former Rep. Steve King, whom Feenstra defeated in a bitter 2020 House primary. NBC News reported that Lahn was leading Feenstra in 16 of the 19 counties King won in that 2020 contest when the race was called.

An outside group supporting Lahn portrayed Feenstra as soft on immigration. Feenstra, in turn, attacked Lahn for investing in a company that sells sex toys.

Because Lahn cleared 35% of the vote, the race will not go to a state convention later this month.

Lahn now faces Sand, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination and has been able to focus on the general election. Sand, a two-term state auditor and the only statewide elected Democrat in Iowa, has campaigned on government accountability and an anti-establishment message aimed at both parties. He has promised to be a governor “for all of Iowa.” Republicans have sought to portray him as a liberal presenting himself as a centrist.

Iowa has moved sharply toward Republicans in recent years. Trump carried the state three times, including 56% to 43% in 2024. The state has not elected a Democratic governor in two decades, and Sand won reelection in 2022 by fewer than 3,000 votes. Still, the Cook Political Report rates the governor’s race a tossup, while the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics says it leans Republican.

Republicans are defending the seat after Gov. Kim Reynolds declined to seek reelection, creating Iowa’s first open governor’s race since 2006. Sen. Joni Ernst also chose not to seek another term, leaving Iowa with competitive contests for governor, Senate and several House seats.

Lahn enters the general election at a major fundraising disadvantage. CBS News reported that he loaned his campaign $2 million last year and had just over $700,000 on hand as of mid-May, compared with nearly $18.3 million for Sand. Sand raised about $9.7 million from the start of the year through mid-May, including just over $3 million from members of his wife’s family; Lahn raised just under $1 million.