Morning Digest: The Iowa GOP's surprise nominee for governor sure spends a lot of time in Kansas

Why Democrats are calling Republican Zach Lahn "a part-time Iowan"

Iowa Republican Zach Lahn flying an airplane (credit: Rob Sand ad screenshot)

Leading Off

IA-Gov

State Auditor Rob Sand, the Democrats’ nominee in the race for Iowa’s open governorship, is already going on the attack to blast his newly minted Republican opponent as a “part-time Iowan.”

“An economy near the bottom, but number one in rising cancer rates,” begins the narrator of Sand’s new TV spot. “Turning Iowa around will be a full-time job, but Zach Lahn isn’t even a full-time Iowan.”

“Lahn lives, voted, and hit it rich in Kansas as a political insider, working for billionaires and special interests, commuting to Iowa on his private plane,” she continues as viewers see footage of Lahn flying what’s presumably his aircraft. “Lahn says, if elected, he’d ‘be in Iowa as much as humanly possible.’ But you can’t be a full-time Governor if you’re a part-time Iowan.”

Just a few weeks before Tuesday’s primary, the Des Moines Register reported that Lahn, a wealthy investor, had flown from Iowa to Wichita, Kansas, in a plane he owns (and sometimes flies) 37 times since Oct. 1—an average of once every six days.

“I have a blended family, and some of my children are based out of Wichita,” Lahn (pronounced “Lane”) told the paper. “And I’m trying my best to be present for things. And also, we use the plane to shuttle kids back and forth from Iowa as a tool that we use.”

He added that if he wins the race to succeed Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is not seeking reelection, he’d change his approach.

“But if I’m elected governor, it would be a different arrangement, and we’d work it out,” he said. “Because, you know, we’d be in Iowa as much as humanly possible.”

The Kansas Reflector followed up with more details about Lahn’s ties to Wichita, where he helped launch a private K-12 school called Wonder in 2018. The funding for that school was provided by Chase Koch, the son of billionaire Charles Koch, and his wife, Annie. (Lahn, who grew up in Iowa, had previously worked as the Montana state director for Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm.)

Chase and Annie Koch later divorced, as did Lahn and his first wife, Lauren. Lahn then married Annie Koch and remained in Kansas, where he voted in elections from 2018 to 2022. Only in October of 2024 did he re-register to vote in Iowa—just early enough to help establish the minimum two years of residency necessary to be eligible to serve as governor under the state Constitution.

Lahn wound up launching a bid for that very office last fall. Though a first-time candidate and political unknown, he boosted his name recognition by blitzing the airwaves, thanks in part to a $2 million loan he made to his campaign last year.

Still, the establishment choice, Rep. Randy Feenstra, continued to look like the frontrunner and released a poll in April showing him with a wide 41-8 lead on the newcomer.

But Lahn played up his role as an outsider and his far-right views on immigration, even touting an endorsement from former Rep. Steve King, an avowed white nationalist whom Feenstra unseated in 2020 after GOP leaders had grown embarrassed by his rhetoric. Lahn, though, was unabashed, saying King “loves the state of Iowa - its heritage, its culture, and its people.”

That message seemed to resonate with Republican voters, prompting Donald Trump to wage a last-minute rescue mission by endorsing Feenstra just days before the primary. It wasn’t enough, as Lahn squeaked by Feenstra in a 38-37 upset.

Feenstra didn’t make much of an issue of Lahn’s Kansas connection, instead running ads about a $1 million investment Lahn had made in a maker of sex toys.

But Sand, a lifelong Iowan who didn’t have a primary to worry about, is betting that his new rival’s extensive ties to the state will be a more potent issue.

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Tuesday's massive primary night

Election Recaps

CA-Gov

The Associated Press projected Friday evening that Democrat Xavier Becerra has advanced out of the June 2 top-two primary in the race for California’s open governorship. However, it remains to be seen whether his general election opponent will be fellow Democrat Tom Steyer or Republican Steve Hilton, though the latter appears more likely.

Becerra, a former state attorney general who later served in Joe Biden’s cabinet as health secretary, leads with 27% as of Sunday morning. Hilton, a former Fox News host and Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate, holds a 26-21 edge over Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist, for second place.

Steyer has gained some ground since election night, when Hilton sat it first with 28%, Becerra had 25%, and Steyer 20%. However, with the AP estimating that 72% of the vote has been tabulated, his chances of closing the remaining gap look slim.

CA-06

Democrat Richard Pan is now in second place after a partial vote count on election night showed him in third, though the AP has not called either spot in the general election for California’s open 6th Congressional District.

Updated counts released Friday place Rep. Kevin Kiley, a member of the Republican caucus running as an independent, in first with 25%. Pan, a former state senator, holds a 23-21 lead over Michael Stansfield, a little-known Republican.

Immediately following election night, Kiley was in the top position with 27% while Stansfield was in second at 22% and Pan just behind with 21%. The AP estimates 66% of the vote has been counted in this Sacramento-area constituency.

CA-07

The AP projects veteran Rep. Doris Matsui will advance to the general election for California’s 7th District, but with an estimated 66% of the vote tallied, it has not yet called the race for second place.

Matsui is in front with 30%, while Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, a fellow Democrat, leads Republican Zachariah Wooden 28-23 for second.

IN-SoS

Marine veteran Beau Bayh won the Democratic nomination for Indiana secretary of state on Saturday by defeating Blythe Potter, an Army veteran who was waging a long-shot campaign, 61-39 at the Democratic Party’s convention.

Bayh, the son of former Sen. Evan Bayh, will have to wait two more weeks to learn whether his Republican opponent will be Secretary of State Diego Morales, whose tenure has been defined by numerous bad headlines, or one of the three candidates challenging Morales at the GOP’s upcoming convention.

Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who led Indiana’s capital city as a Republican more than a decade ago, is also campaigning as an independent.

Los Angeles, CA Mayor

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman moved into the all-important second slot in the primary for mayor on Sunday evening, all but ensuring that incumbent Karen Bass will face a fellow Democrat in November.

Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was in third place behind the leading Republican, former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, after an initial batch of votes was tallied on election night. But subsequent vote drops kept shrinking Pratt’s lead and ultimately put Raman ahead 27.1 to 26.7 when new ballots were added to the count on Sunday. Bass remains in first with 35% of the vote, which the AP estimates is 83% complete.

Given the trend in later-counted ballots, which have been bluer than those tallied earlier, there’s little chance that Pratt can regain his edge, to Bass’ chagrin.

Pratt’s candidacy was unsuccessfully boosted by Bass’ allies in the belief that it would be easier for the unpopular mayor to defeat a Republican in this overwhelmingly liberal city. Now, though, Bass will almost certainly have to defend her record from the left—and may seek to woo Republican voters who will likely lack one of their own to support in the general election.

Senate

MI-Sen

The United Auto Workers, one of the largest and most influential unions in Michigan, on Friday endorsed two Democrats vying for a pair of open statewide offices: former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, who’s running for Senate, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who’s seeking the governorship.

While Benson has long been the heavy favorite over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, El-Sayed is locked in a much tougher three-way battle with Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

The UAW’s decision to back El-Sayed is particularly notable because Stevens has long touted the extensive support she’s received from organized labor, noting last month that her 12 union endorsements were “triple her closest opponent.”

Governors

FL-Gov

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced on Friday that he was dropping his bid for governor following a diagnosis of prostate cancer. His decision leaves former Rep. David Jolly as the only notable Democrat seeking Florida’s open governorship.

House

UT-03

A super PAC run by former Utah Rep. Chris Stewart has shelled out nearly $900,000 to help Rep. Celeste Maloy ahead of the June 23 GOP primary, where she faces a challenge from far-right state Rep. Phil Lyman. The group’s ads focused on Donald Trump’s endorsement of the congresswoman, who survived her last primary two years ago by just 176 votes following a recount.

Poll Pile

• AL-Sen (R): Co/efficient:

  • Barry Moore: 46, Jared Hudson: 37.

  • Co/efficient says the poll was “[n]ot sponsored by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

• ME-Sen: Fabrizio, Lee & Associates for Pine Tree Results PAC (pro-Susan Collins):

  • Graham Platner (D): 46, Susan Collins (R-inc): 46.

• SC-Gov (R): The Tyson Group:

  • Alan Wilson: 19, Pamela Evette: 18, Ralph Norman: 15, Rom Reddy: 11, Nancy Mace: 11, undecided: 25.

• SC-Gov (R): co/efficient:

  • Evette: 23, Reddy: 17, Wilson: 16, Norman: 15, Mace: 11.

  • April: Evette: 21, Wilson: 18, Norman: 13, Mace: 12, Reddy: 11.

  • Co/efficient says the poll was “[n]ot sponsored by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

• SC-Gov (R): Starboard Communications:

  • Wilson: 19, Evette: 19, Reddy: 14, Norman: 13, Mace: 11.

  • April: Wilson: 20, Norman: 14, Mace: 13, Evette: 12, Reddy: 10.

• MN-02 (D): GQR for Matt Klein:

  • Matt Little: 26, Matt Klein: 19, Kaela Berg: 16, undecided: 39.

• Washington, D.C. Mayor (D): The Washington Post/George Mason University/Braun Research:

  • Janeese Lewis George: 36, Kenyan McDuffie: 25, other candidates 4% or less, undecided: 25.

  • After simulated ranked choice: Lewis George: 40, McDuffie: 29, undecided/neither: 31.