Zach Lahn’s Running Mate Pick Undercuts Claim He’ll Take on Big Pesticide Companies
DES MOINES – Career political operative and Kansas carpetbagger Zach Lahn chose Derek Wulf as his running mate, contradicting his own campaign promise to take on big pesticide companies. According to new reporting from Bleeding Heartland, Wulf has close ties to big pesticide companies and has a record of voting in favor of special interests over Iowans.
- Close ties to pesticide companies: During his time in the state legislature, Wulf supported “a bill that would give broad legal immunity to pesticide and herbicide manufacturers” — undercutting Lahn’s claim that his administration would stand up to big pesticide companies.
- Questions about gifts from lobbyists: Before pesticide lobbyists publicly thanked Wulf for supporting a pesticide immunity bill, Wulf attended a concert sponsored by the same corporate lobbyists. As Bleeding Heartland reports, Lahn didn’t answer who paid for the tickets and whether the gift was a violation of Iowa campaign law, which forbids gifts over three dollars. Lahn’s campaign is now scrambling to paper over Wulf’s ties to the pesticide lobby.
Lahn’s LG pick of a government insider who has served as a rubber stamp for Kim Reynolds’ harmful agenda has “raise[d] questions about whether Lahn and his team did their homework … to vet and interview” Wulf. Lahn even admitted to Gray TV he “had not thought about” who his running mate would be until “at least Wednesday and maybe later after the election.”
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“Zach Lahn can’t claim he’ll stand up to big pesticide companies while picking a running mate who helped protect their corporate interests over Iowa farmers and families. Lahn choosing Derek Wulf as his running mate raises serious questions about his judgement and shows Iowans yet again that his priorities lie with special interests, not working families.”
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