¶ How To Win Against Zach Lahn
Zach Lahn’s record included attacks on Iowans’ health care, education, and reproductive rights, and support for Trump’s devastating tariffs. Lahn opposed Medicaid expansion and helped lead efforts to block health care coverage for low-income Americans, despite hundreds of thousands of Iowans relying on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage today. He defended Trump's tariffs and downplayed the impacts on Iowa farmers even as farmers and economists warned they were increasing financial pressure on Iowa agriculture and driving up costs across the state. Lahn also backed taxpayer-funded private school vouchers while proposing to revoke teachers' licenses for alleged "indoctrination," despite co-founding an unaccredited private school that did not require licensed teachers. New reporting found Lahn’s private school ran years of deficits, owed the Lahns $4.5 million, and was where his handgun was stolen before he pushed to allow guns on school property. Lahn was an anti-abortion extremist who supported a total abortion ban, opposed abortion medication access, and backed restrictions that went beyond existing Iowa law. Lahn embraced anti-vaccine policies, opposed vaccine requirements, and aligned himself with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement. Lahn is a carpetbagger with deep ties to Kansas and other states, maintaining a residence in Kansas and flying frequently to Kansas while running for Iowa governor.
¶ Zach Lahn Opposed The Affordable Care Act And Medicaid Expansion
- In 2009, Lahn gained national attention after challenging President Obama during a town hall, questioning whether the Affordable Care Act would increase prices and arguing that a government-run health plan would have an unfair advantage over private insurers. In 2015, Lahn dismissed Medicaid expansion as "just more of the ObamaCare mess." As of 2025, more than 603,000 Iowans relied on Medicaid, including approximately 183,000 adults covered through Medicaid expansion. In 2026, more than 123,300 Iowans received coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, and Medicaid expansion helped drive significant reductions in uninsured rates among low-income workers.
- From 2014-2015, while Lahn was the Director of Americans for Prosperity-Montana, Lahn helped lead efforts to block Medicaid expansion, using town halls, mailers, phone campaigns, and anti-expansion pledges to pressure Republican lawmakers to oppose the policy. Lahn argued Medicaid expansion would “shackle” Montanans to a "system that already fails to provide adequate access to healthcare" and incorrectly claimed “millions of Montanans” opposed expansion, despite Montana's population being only about one million at the time. Ultimately, Montana expanded Medicaid despite those efforts.
Message: Zach Lahn led efforts to block Medicaid expansion and opposed the Affordable Care Act that helped provide coverage to tens of thousands of Iowans.
¶ Zach Lahn Supported Trump’s Tariffs And Dismissed Tariff Impacts On Farmers Despite Increasing Financial Pressure
- In 2026, Lahn defended Trump’s tariffs and repeatedly claimed they were “not the issue” facing Iowa farmers, arguing that rising input costs and agricultural monopolies were the real cause of farmers’ financial struggles. Lahn insisted farmers were more concerned about the cost of seed, fertilizer, and other inputs than tariffs. However, farmers, and economists warned that Trump’s tariffs were increasing financial pressure on Iowa agriculture and contributing to higher costs across the state.
- An April 2025 report from the Iowa Farmers for Free Trade found tariffs added nearly $90 million in new costs to Iowa businesses in a single month, a 304% increase from the previous year. Economists also warned tariffs were hurting farmers and delaying investments that supported local economies. Iowa farmers were also concerned that Trump’s tariffs would cause the biggest buyers of agricultural goods to look towards other countries since Iowa relied on exporting agricultural goods. Trump’s tariffs also impacted Iowa’s businesses and restaurant industry as Iowa’s manufacturing industry warned the tariffs placed more than 226,000 jobs at risk.
Message: Zach Lahn defended Trump’s tariffs instead of standing up for Iowa farmers facing rising costs.
¶ Zach Lahn Ran An Unaccredited Private School In Kansas While Supporting Policies That Defunded Iowa Public Schools
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Lahn co-founded a private school in Kansas and touted Wonder, Inc. as a model for reinventing schools despite years of deficits and owing the Lahns $4.5 million by 2025. Public records exposed Wonder, Inc. relied heavily on outside funding, while the amount owed to the Lahns grew to $4.5 million and the Lahns’ roles as both school officers and major creditors triggered annual conflict-of-interest disclosures and went against IRS recommendations for nonprofit governance. In Wonder, Inc’s 990 for FY 2025, the school reported owing the Lahns more than $2.68 million each, which was more than seven times the amount originally loaned.
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In 2023, Lahn’s handgun and ammunition were stolen from Wonder, Inc. the school Lahn co-founded, and his campaign declined to explain how the gun was left somewhere it could be stolen. He later supported legislation to expand gun rights, including allowing permit holders to carry firearms on school property, arguing armed adults could help “protect” kids.
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Lahn pushed policies that would expand taxpayer-funded private school vouchers while increasing scrutiny of Iowa’s public school teachers. Lahn proposed eliminating Iowa’s teacher licensing board and revoking the licenses of teachers accused of “indoctrination” or promoting a “political agenda” in the classroom. His proposals came despite co-founding Wonder, Inc., an unaccredited private school in Kansas that was not required to hire licensed teachers. Wonder, Inc. was also was not equipped to serve all students with special education needs.
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Lahn supported expanding school vouchers despite concerns the program diverted public funds to private schools and strained Iowa public schools. At the same time, Wonder, Inc., the private school Lahn co-founded, charged families up to $10,000 in annual tuition. Meanwhile, Iowa’s voucher program cost taxpayers more than $314 million in 2025-2026, subsidized 99% of private school students, and was projected to cost $350 million by 2027.
Message: Despite running an unaccredited private school in Kansas, Zach Lahn sought to punish Iowa public school teachers while expanding private school vouchers.
¶ Zach Lahn Was An Anti-Abortion Extremist
- Zach Lahn was an out-of-touch anti-abortion extremist who supported a total abortion ban and argued that life begins at conception, claiming anti-abortion positions were the “only right choice.” He pledged to protect the unborn “without hesitation and without apology” and said his opposition to abortion extended to embryos created through IVF treatment. In 2026, while running for Iowa governor, Lahn signaled support for even stricter abortion restrictions beyond the state’s existing six-week ban.
- Lahn said he would go further than Iowa’s restrictions on abortion medication, calling for a ban on abortion pills. Lahn’s opposition to abortion medication came as the Supreme Court allowed telehealth access to abortion medication to continue under current federal rules.
Message: Zach Lahn threatened the reproductive freedoms of Iowans.
¶ Zach Lahn Sowed Distrust In Vaccines And Backed Anti-Vaccine Policies
- Zach Lahn called for removing COVID-19 vaccines from the market, banning mRNA vaccines, and eliminating all vaccine requirements tied to school enrollment, arguing that the medical establishment had "lost our trust."
- Lahn praised delaying certain newborn hepatitis B vaccinations as a “MAHA win” despite warnings it could increase infections, deaths, and health care costs. He also attacked organizations like the World Health Organization as "globalist organizations" that sought to strip away rights and sovereignty.
- In 2026, Lahn received the endorsement of Stand For Health Freedom, an organization that opposed vaccine requirements. Lahn also signed Americans For Health Freedom's pledge calling for COVID vaccines and mRNA shots to be pulled from the market. Lahn further aligned himself with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement, becoming the first candidate endorsed by MAHA Action and describing Kennedy as a major motivation for his campaign. Lahn campaigned with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and said he had “long admired” Kennedy and his work.
Message: Zach Lahn embraced anti-vaccine policies that put Iowa public health at risk.
¶ Zach Lahn Is A Carpetbagger
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Despite running to be governor of Iowa, as of 2026, Lahn maintained a home in Kansas and frequently flew to Kansas using his private plane. Lahn maintained a $2 million mansion in Wichita, never claimed his Iowa property as his primary residence, and regularly flew from Kansas to campaign events in Iowa. The Des Moines Register found that Lahn’s private plane took 37 trips to Wichita and spent 75 nights in Wichita between October 2025 and May 2026. Lahn said that if he wins the gubernatorial election, he would “be in Iowa as much as humanly possible.” Lahn re-registered to vote in Iowa in October 2024, barely qualifying for Iowa’s residence requirement to run for Iowa governor, after living in Kansas and voting in Kansas elections from 2018 to 2022. In 2024, Lahn’s wife purchased a home near Wichita and declared it her primary residence before selling it to an LLC in 2025.
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Lahn’s 2025 travel records fueled further carpetbagger accusations after he claimed he had lived full time in Iowa since 2023. Strava data showed four Kansas bike rides beginning and ending at Lahn’s family home, in Kechi, Kansas while flight records indicated he may have spent weeks in Kansas around the same period. Lahn denied the report and claimed his “actual account” showed more than 90 percent of his rides were in Iowa, but he did not publicly release that account for review.
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Prior to living in Kansas, Lahn also lived in Montana, working for Montana’s Americans for Prosperity chapter and Steve Daines. He also attended college in Colorado and worked for Cory Gardner.
Message: Zach Lahn is a carpetbagger with deep ties to Kansas.
¶ Issue Back-Ups
¶ Zach Lahn’s Positions Have Hurt Everyday People
| Zach Lahn Opposed The Affordable Care Act And Medicaid Expansion
| Zach Lahn Supported Trump’s Tariffs And Dismissed Tariff Impacts On Farmers Despite Increasing Financial Pressure
| Zach Lahn Ran An Unaccredited Private School In Kansas While Supporting Policies That Defunded Iowa Public Schools
| Zach Lahn Was An Anti-Abortion Extremist
| Zach Lahn Sowed Distrust In Vaccines And Backed Anti-Vaccine Policies
| Zach Lahn Is A Carpetbagger