Republican Iowa gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn said Democratic opponent Rob Sand is pretending to be someone else during an exclusive interview on the Ruthless Podcast.
“[The Democrats] are realizing that their ideas don’t sell,” Lahn said in an interview released Friday morning. “So what do they have to do? They have to pretend to be somebody they’re not.”
Lahn drew attention to Sand’s endorsements from national progressive figures like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
A farmer and businessman, he noted that his campaign highlighted agricultural issues in a manner that resonates with voters on the ground.
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“A lot of our campaign, even in the primary, people said, ‘you can’t run a Republican primary running on the issues you’re running on,’” said Lahn, who received the first endorsement from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s (RFK) Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) PAC. “And I said, ‘We can because this is what the people actually care about.’ I know because I’m with them. I’m one of them.”
Lahn shocked the political world when he won a crowded primary in early June, which included knocking off favorite Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Trump has since endorsed Lahn.
Sand’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Podcast co-host Josh Holmes commended Lahn for his unique approach to healthcare policy.
“You don’t get a lot of Republicans nationwide that want to weigh deeply into it,” Holmes said.
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Earlier this week, Fox News released its projections for gubernatorial races across the country. In Iowa, the Democrats are currently favored to beat Lahn. However, no Democrat has won Iowa’s governor race since 2006, and the state has also gone for Trump handily in three straight presidential elections.
Holmes had an optimistic tone when analyzing the race.
“What has happened to the Democratic Party over the last 20 years, in particular in states like yours, is that they just no longer resonate,” Holmes said. “They’re culturally divorced from what it is that families are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.”
The interview took place as part of the Ruthless Midterm Interview Series, an ongoing initiative to interview major candidates across the country. The hosts have already interviewed candidates in 18 states, with more scheduled ahead of the November midterms.
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“I don’t want to go anywhere else but this seat to be the governor,” Lahn said, comparing his aspirations to Sand’s. “I want to help make Iowa the best place to raise a family, start businesses, all of these things. And I think we’ve got a good foundation right now. But, you know, this is what I want to do. The New York Times has my opponent, I think, two days ago, as a very likely person to jump right into a presidential campaign.”
