Trump’s Primary-endorsement Win Streak Dies in Iowa

President Donald Trump’s ironclad grip on Republican politics slipped this week in Iowa as the president’s handpicked GOP gubernatorial candidate, Congressman Randy Feenstra, lost to MAHA-aligned outsider Zach Lahn in a significant upset.

On Monday, Trump was reveling in his perfect track record of primary wins, posting on Truth Social that he is honored to have “taken out many bad Political ‘Leaders’,” referring to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Brad Raffensperger, who both lost their elections to Trump-backed opponents in May.

The president added that throughout the early primaries leading up to the midterms, he had maintained a perfect “38-0” win streak.

But that all changed Tuesday night.

Zach Lahn, an entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, and 6th-generation Iowan, beat Feenstra by a mere 1,625 votes.

At the time of publication, 211,638 total ballots had been cast in the primary.

Lahn barely squeaked out the win with a margin of victory of roughly 0.77 percent. However, he single-handedly ended the president’s track record of wins.

Sending a Message

The victory shows that Trump does not always hold the final word in local politics. His doing so is a damaging trend that has ousted or defeated constitutionally aligned candidates across the nation.

Lahn’s victory also illustrates that policy, principles, and authenticity still matter to GOP voters.

Feenstra, who has been in Congress since 2021, holds a lousy 64-percent constitutional voting score on The New American’s Freedom Index.

He voted against defunding the scandal-ridden and unconstitutional USAID, voted to send aid to Ukraine, and supported the reauthorization of FISA, condoning the surveillance of citizens — just to name a few bad votes.

Lahn, on the other hand, is an America First political novice. He and his wife, Annie, have seven children and have worked to preserve local historical buildings in Iowa, though Zach has never held political office.

His platform is unique in its focus on RFK Jr.’s push to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Lahn centered his campaign on targeting monopolies that harm agriculture in Iowa and conducting independent safety tests on products to confront the cancer crisis.

He also focused on lowering property taxes, confiscating land illegally owned by China, and selling it back to young families and veterans.

On migration, he promised to ban benefits for illegal immigrants while ending H-1B visa jobs within the state.

His message obviously resonated with voters, especially youth.

In contrast, Feenstra’s platform consisted of boilerplate policies without substantial action plans. He committed to lowering healthcare premiums, delivering world-class education for kids, and raising wages.

He mistakenly banked on Trump’s endorsement to carry him over the finish line.

MAHA Reacts

Online, commentators rushed to offer their hot take on the political upset.

Hollywood actor-turned-conservative influencer Rob Schneider celebrated the win, posting, “MAHA OUT-TRUMPED TRUMP!!”

The popular burger joint Steak ’n Shake, which gained attention in 2024 for backing RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda by using beef tallow in their products, celebrated Lahn’s win, writing, “Voters took a stand and supported a MAHA candidate in a tight primary race. Steak n Shake remains undefeated in political endorsements.”

In a rare break with the president, the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA’s action arm endorsed Lahn over Feenstra. “We are so proud of grassroots activists who contributed heavily to the Lahn victory tonight,” the organization announced. “Looking forward to Turning Point Action’s involvement to keep Iowa red this November!”

President Trump has not yet commented on the outcome of the race.

Steve King Vindicated

Beyond highlighting policy differences and the faltering power of Trump’s endorsement, Lahn’s win also served as a stark vindication of Iowa’s former Republican Representative Steve King.

King, who served in Congress from 2003 to 2021, has been labeled by some analysts one of the most conservative members in Congress of the 21st century.

During his reelection campaign in 2020, King became the target of a massive media propaganda smear. He was falsely labeled a “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” after the The New York Times released an interview titled “Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics.”

The Times quoted King as saying:

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

Without offering any context for the statement, Uniparty elites ran wild with the smear.

The Republican Steering Committee removed King from all House committee assignments, donors pulled money, and countless elected officials on both sides condemned him.

Clarifying what he actually meant, King responded to the attacks and mischaracterization:

One of my quotes in a New York Times story has been completely mischaracterized. Here’s the context I believe accurately reflects my statement.

In a 56 minute interview, we discussed the changing use of language in political discourse. We discussed the worn out label “racist” and my observation that other slanderous labels have been increasingly assigned to Conservatives by the Left, who injected into our current political dialog such terms as Nazi, Fascist, “White Nationalist, White Supremacist,— Western Civilization, how did THAT language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”…just to watch Western Civilization become a derogatory term in political discourse today. Clearly, I was only referencing Western Civilization classes. No one ever sat in a class listening to the merits of white nationalism and white supremacy.

When I used the word “THAT” it was in reference ONLY to Western Civilization and NOT to any previously stated evil ideology ALL of which I have denounced. My record as a vocal advocate for Western Civilization is nearly as full as my record in defense of Freedom of Speech.

King’s explanation made sense, but the damage was already done.

In a large defeat, he lost his reelection bid to Randy Feenstra in 2020 by 10 points, the same Feenstra who faced Lahn this week.

King endorsed and campaigned for Lahn, helping end Feenstra’s political ambitions — for now.

Celebrating the win, he took to social media: “Zach Lahn’s earthshaking upset to win Republican nomination for Governor of Iowa. Move over Old Guard Establishment and get behind the fresh new brain of Iowa’s next governor, Zach Lahn.”

In November, Lahn will face off against Iowa’s Democratic State Auditor, Rob Sand.