05/30/2026
ENDORSEMENT OF ZACH LAHN FOR GOVERNOR
By Tea Party of America Action
Tea Party of America Action is proud to endorse Zach Lahn for Governor of Iowa.
We do so knowing full well that this is a strong Republican field. There are good men in this race. Conservatives. Patriots. Men with real records, real strengths, and real convictions. That should be said plainly at the beginning, because honesty still matters.
Adam Steen has built a real faith-and-values campaign and has spoken clearly to the evangelical base. Brad Sherman has been what grassroots conservatives always respect most: loyal, determined, unwavering, and principled. Eddie Andrews has one of the strongest conservative legislative records in the field, especially given the district he represents. And Randy Feenstra is not nearly as moderate as some activists like to pretend. His voting record in Washington is stronger than many critics want to admit, and that should count for something.
But Tea Party of America Action is not here to rubber-stamp the safest choice.
We exist because the Republican Party still needs to be pushed back toward first principles.
The Tea Party does not exist because Americans wanted better branding. It exists because millions of Americans are sick of runaway spending, sick of debt, sick of federal arrogance, sick of backroom dealmaking, sick of politicians who speak the language of freedom while governing like managers of decline. The Tea Party stands for constitutional government, lower taxes, less spending, less debt, less bureaucracy, more accountability, more liberty, more citizen involvement, and the simple belief that government is supposed to serve the people, not rule them.
It is a grassroots revolt against the idea that ordinary citizens are supposed to sit down, shut up, and let the permanent class make all the decisions.
That spirit still matters.
And that is why this endorsement matters.
Because this race is not merely about who is acceptable to the establishment. It is not merely about who has the biggest résumé, the biggest machine, or the last-minute blessing from the people who always seem to show up when grassroots voters start thinking for themselves.
It is about who still speaks the language of the grassroots.
It is about who still understands that Iowa does not belong to the consultant class, the donor class, or the institutional class.
It belongs to the people who live here, work here, raise families here, own land here, build businesses here, and still believe this state is worth fighting for.
That is Zach Lahn.
Zach comes out of the same grassroots reform world that so many of us live in, including the Americans for Prosperity / Tea Party lane of politics that focuses on citizen activism, local leadership, and pushing back against a corrupt and complacent political class. Whether you first knew him through those circles or are just meeting him now as a candidate, what stands out is that he does not talk like a man who was manufactured by the system. He talks like a man who came out of the grassroots and still answers to it.
And unlike so many candidates who can only recite the standard bullet points, Zach Lahn speaks with a broader and deeper vision of what is happening to Iowa.
He is not merely running on generic conservative slogans.
He is talking about Iowa’s cancer crisis.
He is talking about water quality.
He is talking about family farms.
He is talking about keeping Iowa land in Iowa hands.
He is talking about whether young families can still afford to stay here and build a future.
He is talking about education, ownership, health, taxes, and the quality of life our people are actually living.
That matters to us.
Because the Tea Party is never just about one line item in the budget.
It is about whether free people still govern themselves.
It is about whether states and communities still matter.
It is about whether citizens can still push back when the powerful decide that regular Americans are to be managed instead of represented.
Zach speaks that language.
And now, at the very end of this primary, the voters appear to be hearing it too.
The new JMC Analytics poll conducted May 27-28 shows Zach Lahn leading the Republican primary field at 24%, with Randy Feenstra at 22%, Adam Steen at 15%, Brad Sherman at 8%, Eddie Andrews at 4%, and 27% undecided. On the forced ballot, Lahn also leads 27% to 24%. That is not ancient history. That is where the race stands in the poll taken this week.
And then, today, came the predictable establishment response.
Donald Trump endorsed Randy Feenstra on Friday, just days before the primary. Voters can decide for themselves what to make of the timing. We are content to say this: the moment grassroots momentum visibly shifts toward Zach Lahn, the old power structure moves to stop it. That is how politics works. But Tea Party people of all people know that just because the powerful move does not mean the grassroots must kneel.
We are not endorsing Zach Lahn because he is the safest choice.
We are endorsing him because he is the most Tea Party choice.
He understands that liberty is not abstraction. It is lived out in whether families can afford to stay, whether land can still be owned, whether taxes can still be paid, whether children can still be raised in healthy communities, whether citizens can still trust their government, and whether the next generation will inherit a freer and healthier Iowa than the one we were handed.
That is a bigger message than the usual party script.
That is a message rooted in constitutional self-government, local stewardship, and citizen power.
That is why Tea Party of America Action proudly endorses Zach Lahn for Governor of Iowa.
Charlie Gruschow
Chairman
Tea Party of America Action
Craig Bergman
President
Tea Party of America Action
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