Politics

Iowa Republicans Just Rejected Trump’s Endorsed Candidate for Governor

By Mike Harper · June 3, 2026

On Friday, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Randy Feenstra had his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to be the next governor of Iowa. He used capital letters. He posted it twice.

“RANDY WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”

On Tuesday night, Iowa Republicans chose Zach Lahn instead. Lahn, a farmer and businessman from northwest Iowa who lost his family’s farm in 2005 and won it back in 2014, defeated Feenstra by less than a percentage point — 37.8% to 37% — in a five-way primary that was not called until late Tuesday night. Feenstra conceded. Lahn is the Republican nominee for governor of Iowa.

A Trump world strategist’s text message, obtained by NBC News, captured the reaction from inside the campaign.

“Clearly a Randy problem. Barely won his own district. But, it is what it is. So we go with Lahn.”

The loss makes Feenstra the second Trump-endorsed candidate for governor to lose a primary outright in 2026 — a notable data point in a midterm cycle where Trump’s endorsement has otherwise functioned as a near-guarantee of victory in Republican primaries. Feenstra had served five terms in Congress representing Iowa’s 4th District and had positioned himself as a loyal Trump ally. The late endorsement — four days before the primary — was intended as a closing argument. It wasn’t enough.

What beat Feenstra was a combination of factors that Trump’s endorsement couldn’t override. Lahn aligned himself with RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, which gave him a lane independent of the Trump-Feenstra dynamic. He was endorsed by former Congressman Steve King — who lost to Feenstra in a bitter 2020 primary — and ran up the score in counties King had dominated. An outside group supporting Lahn painted Feenstra as soft on immigration. Lahn also ran as a working farmer rather than a career politician, a framing that resonated in an agricultural state where rural voters have been hammered by tariff and market disruptions.

Republicans have not lost a gubernatorial race in Iowa since George W. Bush was president. The open seat — created by Governor Kim Reynolds choosing not to seek a third term — had been considered a safe Republican hold. That assumption may need revisiting. The Democratic nominee, Rob Sand, ran unopposed in his primary, reports a $10 million war chest built significantly from his extended family’s support, and has been campaigning with a bipartisan pitch specifically designed to reach moderate Republicans disenchanted with the chaos of the current moment.

Iowa is now a race to watch in November.