Welcome back to Frequent Flyer Fridays — your weekly newsletter from the Iowa Democratic Party, bringing you the latest updates on everything Kansas’ favorite frequent flyer Zach Lahn is up to.
This week, Zach Lahn came under scrutiny for refusing to say who’s bankrolling his running mate’s debts and for his ties to Kim Reynolds, the most unpopular governor in the country for two straight years. New race ratings from the nonpartisan National Journal also name the Iowa governor’s race the top Democratic flip opportunity in the country.
Let’s get into it.
📍 Where was Kansas carpetbagger Zach Lahn this week? Once again missing in action from the campaign trail because he had zero events on his public schedule.
🔥 Lahn in the hot seat: Lahn won’t say who is bankrolling his running mate’s $900,000 debt bailout
This week, reporting from Bleeding Heartland revealed that Zach Lahn is refusing to tell Iowans who is paying off his running mate Derek Wulf’s massive debts and legal bills.
- Before joining Lahn’s ticket, Wulf “was in the hole for at least $900,000” and faced “foreclosure and default judgments for multiple creditors seeking repayment of six-figure debts.”
- But “immediately after his political star rose,” Wulf received a “huge infusion of cash” to pay off his debts, and “an unnamed lender may be willing to refinance the obligations that prompted Wulf’s bank to file a foreclosure petition in May.”
Instead of being transparent with Iowans, Lahn’s campaign is refusing to answer simple questions “about how Wulf has been able to turn around his financial situation and whether his position on the gubernatorial ticket has helped him to secure assistance from [Lahn’s] campaign or its supporters to pay down his debts or secure loans.”
Iowans deserve to know: Who made Derek Wulf’s massive debt bailout possible, and why were they willing to loan Wulf hundreds of thousands of dollars? Did Wulf’s place on the ticket play any role in securing the loan?
What Iowans are reading about Wulf’s debt bailout scandal:
- Des Moines Register: Iowa GOP Lt. Gov. pick under scrutiny as family farm faces foreclosure
- Radio Iowa: Iowa GOP’s lieutenant governor nominee asked about his ‘financial situation’
- The Gazette: Iowa Lt. Gov. candidate Wulf addresses personal finances at conservative group’s meeting
- Sioux County Radio: Wulf discusses farm refinancing following Sioux County court case
- Bleeding Heartland: Who is helping Derek Wulf pay his debts?
Kim Reynolds copycat: Lahn has “cast himself as the heir” to the most unpopular Governor in the country
Zach Lahn has officially “cast himself as the heir” to the most unpopular governor in the nation, as new polling from Morning Consult shows Kim Reynolds was once again rated the most unpopular governor in the country. It’s a title Reynolds has held for over two years in a row, or 10 straight quarters — the longest stretch a governor has been ranked the most unpopular.
Lahn has embraced Reynolds’ failed legacy at every turn, said he’s “grateful” for everything she’s done, and said he believes Reynolds “did the right thing” by landing Iowa with a $1.4 billion budget deficit to fund tax breaks for powerful insiders and special interests.
- Lahn is apparently “grateful” for the last decade of one-party rule that’s made Iowa the number one state for new cancer growth, the state with the second highest number of farm bankruptcies, and left public schools underfunded.
📈 All eyes on the Hawkeye state: Governor’s race is the top Democratic flip opportunity in the country
New race ratings from the nonpartisan National Journal’s Gubernatorial Power Rankings name Iowa the best pickup opportunity for Democrats in the country. This comes after a messy, chaotic, and expensive Republican primary, which Kansas carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn barely “squeaked by.”
- In their analysis, National Journal writes that Democrats have successfully defined Lahn “before he could define himself” as a “carpetbagger from Kansas and an experienced political operative, undercutting the image he cultivated during the primary as an outsider.”
Inside Elections, Cook Political Report, and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball have all moved the governor’s race to a toss-up after Lahn pledged to continue Kim Reynolds’ failed status quo.
📲 Tweet of the week:
That’s a wrap for this edition of Frequent Flyer Fridays. Thanks for reading, we’ll see you next week.