Iowa Republican Zach Lahn confronts curiosity, and concerns, in outsider bid for governor

ARLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Farmer Tim Burrack had concerns about the Republican nominee for Iowa governor — and he wasn’t the only one. The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn’t know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer “came out of nowhere” with a surprise GOP primary win over the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump. So when Lahn came to his farm last week, Burrack questioned him on his approach to agriculture.

“I hit him pretty hard,” said Burrack, who was considering whether to vote for Lahn in November or not vote at all. It wasn’t the first skeptical audience for the self-described “change candidate” in the state led by Republicans. Lahn won the June primary even though an “entire establishment was set up against me,” he said.

He criticizes politicians in both parties, accusing them of being bought by corporate interests. His bid for governor will test how an anti-establishment conservative fares with a general electorate — and with traditional Republicans — a decade after Trump’s own brand of populism reshaped the GOP. While Iowa Republicans have an electoral advantage, Lahn entered the general election with a lower public profile than his Democratic opponent, state Auditor Rob Sand.

Democrats see an opportunity to win this cycle in once-competitive Iowa, where high costs, health clinic closures, manufacturing job losses and a struggling agricultural economy weigh on voters. Lahn talks about bringing a “different message” to Iowans who aren’t satisfied with the trajectory of Iowa’s small towns, public education or cancer rates, even after years of Republican control of state government. But only three months before Election Day, Lahn acknowledged he needs to keep getting out in front of people to address their questions and concerns.

“I think, for the most part, a lot of people just have never heard my message,” Lahn said after the event at Burrack’s farm in Arlington. “The more we’ve met with people, the more they understand where our priorities lie, the more they say, ‘We are with you.’” In farm country, Lahn has to answer for his positions on ‘big ag’ Some of Lahn’s ideas challenge the Republican Party’s status quo. Among them is his approach to agriculture and embrace of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which has prompted questions in the state that’s among the nation’s top producers of corn, soybeans, red meat an…