{"id":646,"date":"2026-06-03T23:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=646"},"modified":"2026-06-03T23:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:14:27","slug":"an-iowa-farm-has-been-in-his-family-for-a-century-he-just-beat-trumps-pick-by-running-against-pesticides-and-big-ag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=646","title":{"rendered":"An Iowa farm has been in his family for a century. He just beat Trump\u2019s pick by running against pesticides and big ag"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The narrow upset Tuesday revealed cracks in Trump\u2019s coalition in the deep-red state, encouraging Democrats who are hopeful they can flip control of the governor\u2019s office this year. It also marked a potential breakthrough moment for\u00a0the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has clashed with the Trump administration over its\u00a0embrace of pesticides\u00a0and backed Lahn\u2019s message in favor of regenerative farming and against large agricultural corporations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI will take on the big ag cartels. I will break up their monopolies, and I will get Iowa farmers a fair deal,\u201d Lahn said in his victory speech late Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Members of the MAHA movement, a diverse coalition of supporters of\u00a0Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u00a0with priorities ranging from ending vaccine mandates to promoting healthy soil and organic food, cheered the win as a sign their political message was resonating with voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis election is a signal that pro-pesticide does not mean pro-farmer,\u201d said Tony Lyons, the president of the Kennedy-aligned MAHA PAC, which endorsed Lahn. \u201cZach Lahn made transitioning away from toxic chemicals the cornerstone of his campaign and won this election decisively with strong farmer support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lahn, little known before his run, carved out a MAHA fandom<\/h4>\n

Lahn, a farmer and former conservative political director, was relatively unknown in Iowa until he launched his campaign in November. During his campaign, he championed policies that appealed to Iowa\u2019s conservative grassroots supporters, like a total ban on abortion and keeping liberal ideology out of school classrooms.<\/p>\n

Lahn, who owns an investment company and lives on a farm in eastern Iowa that had been in his family for a century, capitalized on activists\u2019 skepticism toward Feenstra, criticizing him for not showing up to debate his primary opponents and spending limited time on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

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But Lahn also carved out a niche in the MAHA movement, vocally rebuking the consolidation of farmland in the hands of corporate owners and acknowledging health concerns involving farms and poor water quality.<\/p>\n

Iowa, an agricultural stronghold, has a powerful farm lobby that has opposed mandatory rules about curbing chemicals in water. But dangerously polluted drinking water has become an increasingly urgent issue as runoff from farmland has caused\u00a0surging nitrate levels\u00a0that have required expensive filtration in Des Moines, the state\u2019s capital city.<\/p>\n

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Lahn said in a debate in May that water treatment system upgrades were a \u201cBand-Aid.\u201d He said his goal as governor would be to \u201cdecrease the nitrate load in the water in the future so we have less stress on that system.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In recent months, activists in the MAHA movement loudly backed Lahn as they grew increasingly impatient with the Trump administration and its\u00a0Environmental Protection Agency\u00a0for actions they view as antithetical to making America healthier.<\/p>\n

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Earlier this year, they revolted after Trump issued an executive order aimed at boosting the production of\u00a0a controversial herbicide ingredient known as glyphosate. They also organized a protest at the Supreme Court in April to protest\u00a0glyphosate producer Monsanto\u2019s\u00a0Trump-backed effort to shield itself from lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Lahn has opposed liability shields for pesticide companies. He leaned into campaign points tied to those issues during his primary victory speech Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIowa has the fastest growing cancer rate in the world,\u201d Lahn said. \u201cWe all know something is terribly wrong. But too many politicians from Washington, D.C., to Des Moines have had their heads stuck in the sand while big ag and big pharma printed money. This will not go on when I\u2019m governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Those positions helped Lahn gain endorsements from MAHA PAC and the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s conservative political organization Turning Point Action. Figures from both groups reacted to Lahn\u2019s victory by celebrating it as their own.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMAHA has done its job proving it\u2019s politically radioactive to stand with chemicals over children,\u201d Turning Point USA podcaster Alex Clark said on social media. \u201cIowa knows pesticides are causing cancer which is exploding in their state. Tonight they opted for change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Ryerson, a Florida-based activist whose social media account Glyphosate Girl focuses on nontoxic food systems, said she wants midterm candidates in other states to take note.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecreasing pesticides and improving food quality are common ground issues that drive votes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A setback for Trump after repeated victories<\/h4>\n

Trump had stayed quiet on Iowa\u2019s gubernatorial race until last week, when he\u00a0praised Feenstra\u00a0as \u201cMAGA all the way\u201d and said he would \u201cfight tirelessly\u201d for the state on issues including the economy, border security and support of law enforcement.<\/p>\n

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The power of the president\u2019s endorsement had been proven earlier in the primary season, when it helped defeat two senators \u2014\u00a0John Cornyn\u00a0of Texas and\u00a0Bill Cassidy\u00a0of Louisiana \u2014 and Rep.\u00a0Thomas Massie\u00a0of Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Some political observers had viewed Massie\u2019s loss as a stumbling block for the MAHA movement. The Republican congressman had helped lead a bipartisan effort to get liability protections for chemical companies out of a recent farm bill, in line with activists\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n

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But Feenstra\u2019s loss marked a win for MAHA and a setback for the president. It also creates an opening Democrats are sure to try to seize.<\/p>\n

State Auditor\u00a0Rob Sand, the lone Democrat currently holding statewide office, is the party\u2019s nominee for governor. Unopposed in the primary, Sand has been able to hone his moderate message, remind voters of his rural upbringing and amass an $18 million campaign fund.<\/p>\n

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Feenstra conceded his race to Lahn on Tuesday, signaling he was open to joining forces for the good of the party. He said he called Lahn to tell him to \u201ccarry the torch.\u201d Lahn, looking ahead to November in his victory speech, indicated he\u2019d campaign against Sand with a traditional conservative talking point.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob Sand wants you to believe he\u2019s a moderate,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen this movie before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I hope she\u2019s ready\u2019: Spencer Pratt throws down the gauntlet to Karen Bass<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Swenson reported from New York.<\/p>\n

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Zach Lahn was unknown six months ago. Now he’s the Republican nominee for Iowa governor \u2014 backed by RFK Jr.’s MAHA PAC, Turning Point, and farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Iowa farm has been in his family for a century. 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