Zach Lahn told Iowa State fairgoers that "truth is on the ballot" in the 2026 gubernatorial election as he runs against Iowa Auditor Rob Sand.
Lahn, a farmer, businessman and the GOP nominee for Iowa governor, delivered remarks Friday at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. He said there's been a "big difference" between the primary election where he won in an upset victory against U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, the 4th District representative endorsed by President Donald Trump, and the general election where he faces Sand.
"In the primary, people cared about my ideas," he told the crowd. "That's what the campaign was about, it was about how do we make life better for the people of Iowa for the next generation. As soon as I entered the general election, the 'unity candidate' on the other side decided to make this campaign about personal attacks on me and my family."
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Lahn has faced significant scrutiny over his state residency since becoming the official Republican nominee. The Kansas Reflector reported he registered to vote in 2024 and met the state's two-year residency requirement to run for governor in 2026, but previously lived in and was a registered voter in Kansas, where he launched a private pre-K through 12th-grade school named Wonder. In April, the Des Moines Register reported he frequently flew his personal airplane between Iowa and Kansas because he has a blended family with some children based out of Wichita, Kansas.
As he spoke at the fair, opponents to his campaign held up signs stating "Zach Lahn, part-time Iowan," paid for by the Iowa Democratic Party. Lahn commented on the signs, saying it was "ironic" Democrats and Sand were criticizing him about his residency.
"Here's the most ironic part about these signs: what Rob Sand actually says is that a sixth-generation Iowan is less Iowan than an illegal immigrant," Lahn said. "He said they're just as Iowan as you are. It's wrong. It's distasteful. And every time you talk about this — you're actually bringing my family into it — and I will reject it and debate it every time. And you will lose because we have truth on our side."
Lahn said the "truth" his campaign is focused on are the same issues that won him the GOP gubernatorial primary — "talking about the big agricultural conglomerates that are extorting our farmers, talking about clean water and how we need to lower our cancer rates," he said.
He criticized Sand as a candidate "who's been coronated because of how much money they have, and the donors they have, and the over-$10 million being given by their family," referencing campaign contributions from his wife and wife's family.
Maddie Moher, press secretary for Rob Sand for Iowa, said in a statement that Sand "has spent his career working with Republicans, Democrats, and independents to hold government accountable, uncover misspent taxpayer dollars, and deliver results for Iowans," and will "do the same as Governor."
"Zach Lahn is a career political operative, and his latest attacks are a distraction from his own record and frequent flights to Kansas," Moher said. "While Rob Sand is offering Iowans a new path, Lahn only offers Iowans more of the same one-party rule that has left our economy struggling, public schools under attack, and with a skyrocketing cancer rate. Iowans know Rob will bring people together across party lines to solve the problems that actually matter — not play the same political games that have failed our state."
Lahn, alongside Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, held a news conference earlier Friday where they criticized Sand for portraying himself as a moderate candidate. While Sand has positioned himself as a moderate and criticized the two-party system, Kaufmann said his position as a Democrat is proven by his support from others in the Democratic Party like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"This whole idea of, 'well, the two political parties, they kind of get in our way,' and you're just walking away from the Democratic Party — I would too if I had that crew that that he has from coast to coast, but you, again, can't have it both ways," Kaufmann said.
Though Republicans have held the governor's seat for more than a decade, political forecasters rate the race as a "toss-up," and some recent polls have shown Sand leading in the race.
Lahn said though some polls show him behind, he believes "the trend is that we're closing the gap, and I think we're only going to continue doing that."
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