Lahn’s New Ad Claims Sand Would Raise Iowans’ Taxes by $7,500

Zach Lahn, the Republican candidate for Iowa governor, unveiled a campaign ad that asserts Democrat rival Rob Sand intends to raise the average Iowan’s taxes by $7,500 each year. The commercial, shot on Lahn’s farm in Belle Plaine, frames Sand as a billionaire whose wealth stems from his father-in-law’s chemical company, Lauridsen Group, Inc., and suggests that this fortune shields him from ordinary concerns. Lahn’s spokesman Dan Capodilupo emphasized that Sand’s opposition to tax cuts is easy because “someone else is paying his bills,” noting that Sand’s family has contributed $13 million to his campaigns, the largest sum in Iowa history.

Sand’s press secretary Maddie Moher countered that Lahn is a career political operative whose attacks distract from his own record, including frequent trips to Kansas. The ad appears as Lahn, a venture firm owner and Make America Healthy Again supporter, seeks to retain a governorship that Republicans have held since 2011, following Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision not to run again. Lahn narrowly won the GOP primary over Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra.