Zach Lahn upsets front-runner Feenstra in GOP primary in historic first: Here's why it matters

Zach Lahn has upset the Trump-backed candidate, Randy Feenstra, in the GOP primary for the Iowa governor race on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

President Trump has endorsed his candidacy at the eleventh hour and the defeat is seen as a major upset, multiple U.S. media outlets have projected.

Feenstra has conceded the defeat and extended felicitations to his rival even before the results were out.

This upset defeat comes as the first time that a Trump-backed candidate for the governor, and the congressional candidate has lost a primary.

Who is Zch Lahn?

Lahn hails from Iowa but spent most of his life outside of the State, and  voted in Kansas from 2018 to 2022.

The front-runner Randy Feenstra, who is a three-time congressman, spent a larger campaign budget than Lahn did.

Feenstra, during the primary campaign, relied heavily on his MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) portfolios.

After GOP governor Kim Reynolds announced he would not be running for the reelection, the ground was left open for Feenstra, Lahn and three other candidates competing for the Republican nomination.

Though Lahn has little to no experience in public office, he has been active for years in the state working for the GOP politics and looking after campaigns in Colorado and Montana.

Lahn is now set to run against Democrat Rob Sand in the high stakes November midterms.

For Democrats, they have been unable to win the governor’s office since 2006.