Zach Lahn (R)
Republican nominee · Previous political staffer, campaign manager, fundraiser
Visit campaign site →Sixth-generation Iowan raised in Plymouth County. Earned a political science degree from the University of Colorado in 2009. In 2015 he purchased the farmhouse built by his great-grandfather. He lives there with his wife, Annie, whom he co-founded Wonder School with in 2017. They co-parent seven children. Certified FAA pilot. No prior elected office.
Republican political operative for over a decade, working across three states. He was a staffer to Colorado State Sen. Greg Brophy (2009), deputy campaign manager for Cory Gardner's 2010 U.S. House race in Colorado and staff assistant in Gardner's congressional office (2011), and campaign manager for Steve Daines' 2012 U.S. House race in Montana and state director in Daines' congressional office (2012–2013). He returned to Iowa in July 2013 to manage David Young's campaign in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, left within four months, and in January 2014 joined the campaign of Young's primary rival, former Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz. Young ultimately won the nomination and the seat. In 2014, Lahn became Montana state director for Americans for Prosperity, founded and funded by Charles and David Koch, and led its unsuccessful campaign against Montana's Medicaid expansion, later moving to a fundraising role through 2018.
In 2017 he co-founded Wonder, a private K-12 school in Wichita, Kansas, where he is listed as co-founder and "head of school." The school was launched with Koch family financing, and has not sought accreditation by the Kansas Department of Education meaning it is exempt from following state regulations, administering state tests, or hiring licensed teachers. He also founded Homeplace Ventures in 2016, an agriculture, real estate, and technology investment firm, and was a founding board member of the Jordan B. Peterson Institute. Lahn was also an early investor in and director of FirmTech, a men's sexual health company. His campaign states he stepped down from the board in 2023 before the company released pleasure products, though the company had publicly marketed the ring as sexual wellness technology since mid-2022.
Lahn voted in Kansas elections in 2018, 2020, and August 2022, and registered to vote in Iowa in October 2024, which is at most one month ahead of the eligibility cutoff required by Iowa's constitution. He describes his 2026 gubernatorial run as a self-funded outsider campaign and is his first candidacy for elected office.
Cornerstone of his campaign and the basis for MAHA Action's endorsement (the first the organization has ever given). Lahn often states Iowa's cancer rates are the fastest-rising in the country and tied to chemicals in food and water, particularly glyphosate, other pesticides, and agricultural nitrate runoff. Wants to reduce nitrate loading at the source rather than rely on water treatment upgrades, which he has called a "Band-Aid." He has stated he would veto any bill granting pesticide companies liability immunity from lawsuits. Supports antitrust action against consolidated healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, and wants to expand access to rural hospitals.
Lahn pledges antitrust suits against Big Ag input monopolies (he calls them "big ag cartels") that he says are extorting Iowa farmers. Would confiscate any Iowa land illegally owned by China and sell it to young families and veterans. Wants to end tax credits and economic development funds for out-of-state and foreign corporations and prioritize Iowa-based companies with deep community roots. Strongly opposes the use of eminent domain for private projects like the carbon pipeline.
Says Iowa schools should be "back in the top 5 nationally." Supports "innovation zones" that give superintendents, principals, and teachers more autonomy. Has stated that any teacher caught pushing a political agenda in the classroom should lose their teaching license. Wants to "make public schools so good they're competing with private schools." In Kansas, he founded an alternative non-profit school, providing additional context to his pro school choice position.
Frames his self-funded outsider campaign as the answer to insider corruption: "I don't answer to donors or corporations; only to God, my family, and the people of this state." He argues "politicians on both sides" have ignored Iowa's real problems while special interests, big corporations, and lobbies dominate. He has not taken a specific public position on reversing Senate File 478, the 2023 law that limited the State Auditor's investigative powers.
- Republican Party of Iowa
- Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement
- Turning Point Action
- Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
- CEO of The Family Leader Bob Vander Plaats
- Former U.S. Rep. Steve King
- Total individual contributions: 1,175
- In-state: 583 (49.6%) Out-of-state: 592 (50.4%)
- Small-dollar donors ($100 or less): By count: 826 of 1,175 (70.3%) By dollar volume: $24,137 of $7,611,644 (0.3%)
Source: Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB), as of July 14, 2026. webapp.iowa.gov/iecdb
