A relatively low-profile farmer, who has openly supported the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, managed to defeat President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate in Iowa’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday.
Zach Rahn, a father of seven, is leading an insurrection campaign associated with Make America Healthy Again and Turning Point Action. He clinched the party’s nomination by a slim margin, beating Republican Iowa Representative Randy Feenstra, who was backed by Trump. In a race to succeed the retiring Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, Rahn garnered 37.79% of the votes compared to Feenstra’s 37.01%, a difference of fewer than 2,000 votes, according to the Associated Press. The count for over 95% of the votes had been completed.
Now, Rahn will compete against Democratic Iowa Comptroller Rob Sund, who ran unopposed in his party’s primary. The upcoming November general election is expected to be close. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the open gubernatorial race as a “toss-up,” despite Trump winning the presidency in the past. Sund was the only Iowa Democrat to secure a statewide win in 2022.
“How about this? We are the people!” Rahn declared during his victory speech. “I don’t need to emphasize this, but honestly, no one thought this would happen. We faced heavy spending against us, the establishment opposed us, and we were told to wait our turn.”
“Well, the people of Iowa had their say tonight. We’re not going to wait any longer!” he insisted.
The farmer and businessman hinted at supporting policies consistent with MAHA during his remarks on election night. “Iowa currently has the fastest-growing cancer rate globally. We all recognize that something is very wrong, yet many politicians from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines seem oblivious while Big Agriculture and Big Pharma make money,” he stated. “If I become governor, we can’t allow this to continue.”
“Iowans are attending funerals for parents who lived long lives but died prematurely. We are losing invaluable wisdom, and we must utilize every resource at our disposal to address this crisis,” Rahn further stated. “We need to investigate what Big Farms and Big Pharma knew about the safety of their products—and when they knew it. Our state universities must dedicate every resource possible to combat and eradicate this cancer epidemic.”
During the primary, Rahn and his supporters criticized Feenstra, spotlighting his connections to the pharmaceutical industry, as reported by The Washington Post.
MAHA podcaster Alex Clark, associated with Turning Point USA (TPUSA), strongly favored Rahn over Feenstra. She described Feenstra as a “Bayer-endorsed candidate” in a post and urged voters to support Rahn.
TPUSA President Erica Kirk congratulated Rahn on his victory, emphasizing the importance of Iowa in national politics and expressing pride in their team’s efforts.
Iowa, a significant producer of corn and soy, contributes to products monitored by the MAHA movement, such as high fructose corn syrup and seed oil.
Trump, in his endorsement of Feenstra on Truth Social, labeled him as “MAGA through and through,” citing his strong contributions to the state during his public service.
Feenstra, who served three terms representing a heavily Republican district in northwestern Iowa, chose to pursue the governorship instead of running for a fourth congressional term.
Rahn previously spent time discussing Iowa’s rising cancer rates and related issues in an interview with Tucker Carlson, highlighting concerns about pesticides and their potential health impacts.
In another primary on the same day, another Trump-endorsed candidate, Republican Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, won handily, preparing for a November matchup against Iowa Representative Josh Turek to take over for retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
