Trump Suffers Major Blow in High-Stakes Election Loss
Republican voters have gone against the president.
Iowa Republicans defied Donald Trump and his control over the party by refusing to vote for a gubernatorial candidate the president had personally endorsed.
Trump’s nominee, Representative Randy Feenstra, was defeated by farmer and businessman Zach Lan in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday. Lan was initially considered an outsider among the five Republican candidates.
The loss makes Feenstra the first Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate to lose a primary before the November midterm elections.
Trump praised Feenstra in an enthusiastic post on Truth Social Friday afternoon, just days before the primary vote concluded.
“Randy is MAGA all the way!” Trump wrote in the post, claiming the Republican “has delivered strong results for the Hawkeye State.”
“Randy Feenstra has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Iowa–RANDY WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN,” Trump wrote. He shared the exact same post a few days later.
But Trump’s late endorsement prevented Feinstra from including it in his campaign TV ads during the crucial final days.
“President Trump is the greatest president I have ever known,” Feinstra said in a statement before the election. “He has kept all his promises to the people of Iowa and the American people.”
“As governor, I will work alongside President Trump to put Iowa and America first and deliver tangible results for our state. I will remain a staunch supporter of President Trump and strive to implement his ‘America First’ agenda in Iowa.”
A spokesperson for Feinstra confirmed to NBC that he conceded defeat to Lahn on Tuesday night. Lahn received 37.8% of the vote, compared to 37% for Feinstra, with 99% of the expected votes counted.
One of Trump’s advisers quickly withdrew after the humiliating defeat.
“Clearly a Randy problem. Barely won his own district,” the Trump strategist told NBC via text. “But, it is what it is. So we go with Lahn. That’s fine. He did well.”
Lahn received the endorsement of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, founded by former Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while former Iowa Representative Steve King campaigned for him statewide. King lost to Feinstra in the 2020 primaries, while Lahn pledged to support family farms and fight against lobby groups.
An outside group supporting him also accused Feinstra of being soft on immigration, while Feinstra attacked Lahn for investing in a company that sells sex toys.
A defeat for Feinstra could give Democrats a chance to win the governorship after incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds decided not to seek a third term. Democratic candidate Rob Sand, Iowa’s auditor general since 2019, won the primary unopposed.
Sand is campaigning with a unifying message, seeking to win the support of Democrats, independent voters, and moderate Republicans.
