Iowa Republican Farmer: “Is [Lahn] Going All the Time to Kansas? We Don’t Know Anything About Him.”
Associated Press: “He doesn’t comment on whether he would travel or use taxpayer resources to do so if elected governor.”
DES MOINES – Iowans are raising questions about carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn’s frequent flights to Kansas after he spent the first two months of the general election in hiding.
According to the Associated Press, “Iowans attending some of Lahn’s first publicly advertised events since the primary said they only knew what they’ve seen in advertisements” calling Lahn a “part-time Iowan.” Lahn has repeatedly been asked whether he expects Iowans to bankroll his commute home to Kansas as governor and refuses to “comment on whether he would travel or use taxpayer resources to do so if elected.”
Voters have called Lahn out for refusing to answer basic questions about how much time he actually spends in Iowa and how often he would travel back to Kansas if he’s elected. Even members of Lahn’s party are questioning his part-time living situation: “Is he going all the time to Kansas? “We don’t know anything about him.”
From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:
“It’s no surprise that Iowans don’t know and don’t trust Kansas carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn after he built his campaign on a complete lie. If Lahn can’t answer basic questions about where he lives and how much time he would spend out of state if he’s elected, he has no business asking Iowans for their vote.”
Read more from Associated Press here, or key points below:
- Lahn entered the general election with a lower public profile than his Democratic opponent, state Auditor Rob Sand. Democrats see an opportunity to win this cycle in once-competitive Iowa, where high costs, health clinic closures, manufacturing job losses and a struggling agricultural economy weigh on voters.
- In farm country, Lahn has to answer for his positions on ‘big ag’
- Several Iowans attending some of Lahn’s first publicly advertised events since the primary said they only knew what they’ve seen in advertisements from Sand’s campaign. The ads call Lahn a “part-time Iowan” and reference dozens of occasions where Lahn piloted his private plane to and from Kansas since launching his campaign.
- “Is he going all the time to Kansas?” asked Larry Streicher, 84, a Republican farmer in the front row in Arlington. “We don’t know anything about him.”
- He doesn’t comment on whether he would travel or use taxpayer resources to do so if elected governor.
- Puffett, who attended Lahn’s Arlington event, thinks 10 years of Republican trifecta have given Sand an opening to appeal to people who might be unhappy with the “Republican establishment,” he said.
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