What They’re Saying: “There’s a Problem at the Center of [Lahn’s] Outsider Narrative”
DES MOINES – During the first week of the general election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn has come under major scrutiny for trying to paper over his long career as a political operative and hiding the fact that he still lives in Kansas.
Democrats “are banking on Iowans being ready for a change after a decade of leadership from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds,” and it’s why Iowans are saying that Lahn’s phony outsider shtick and long history of working in politics since 2009 are two of his biggest “weaknesses.” The Atlantic reported that “the biggest complication for Lahn, who vowed last night in his victory speech to fight ‘the establishment’ at every turn, is that in Iowa Republicans are the establishment.”
While Lahn spent the week as a keyboard warrior on Twitter and skipped a gubernatorial candidate forum in Coralville, Sabato’s Crystal Ball joined Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and National Journal in moving the Iowa governor’s race to a Toss-Up. Crystal Ball called Lahn “a less proven candidate” and wrote that “we would also expect Democrats to question Lahn’s Iowa credentials … he built his business in Kansas and voted there in recent elections.”
Don’t take it from us — here’s what they’re saying about lying Zach Lahn:
- The Atlantic: “Lahn has his own weaknesses. The most obvious is that the ‘Iowa First’ candidate … spent many years living in Kansas and has said he moved back to Iowa only in 2023; he still maintains a Kansas home and flies there regularly.”
- Iowa Starting Line: “There’s a problem at the center of [Lahn’s] outsider narrative. While his campaign has been spinning him as the governor race’s clear-eyed, anti-establishment candidate, available reporting documents Lahn’s long history in politics.”
- Politico: “Democrats are banking on Iowans being ready for a change after a decade of leadership from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. According to data from Morning Consult, she’s been the country’s most unpopular governor for two years running; 49 percent of Iowans disapproved of Reynolds’ performance as of February 2026.”
- Three Rural White Guys Podcast: “He lives in Kansas, people. He’s not from here. He flies back and forth on a private jet … he clearly doesn’t live in Iowa.”
- Fair Fight Podcast: “He’s so outside Iowa, he lives in Wichita!”
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