In September of 2025, I launched a congressional campaign in Iowa’s Fourth District Republican primary.
I am not a politician. I am a husband, a father, and a man who believed the stakes for our country were too high to sit on the sidelines. So I left my farm, stepped into an arena where I had no experience, and spent six months learning what it actually takes to run a campaign.
I poured everything I had into that effort. I coded my own website. I designed, printed, and produced my own materials. After working my regular job, I drove to campaign events, met with voters, spoke at forums, made calls, and did everything I could to cover the 36 counties that make up IA-4. Every single night, I drove hundreds of miles back home to see my wife, and because my livestock had no interest in politics.
Then, after months of tireless work, I suspended my campaign and endorsed Chris McGowan. I will gladly vote for him in November to be the next congressman from Iowa’s Fourth District.
After so much effort, no decision could have been harder.
I did not suspend my campaign because I had lost faith in myself. I did it because the practical realities of the race had changed and it was time to put the larger cause ahead of seeing my own name on the ballot.
It would have been far easier to stay in. It would have been easier to avoid calling supporters and telling them I could not carry their support forward. It would have been easier to stay stubborn until the end and tell myself I went down swinging.
But it would not have been better for the people of Iowa, nor would it have been better for the politics I was fighting for.
I have already lived the decision that many Iowa Republicans now face in the governor’s race.
For these same six months, grassroots supporters across the state have divided themselves among candidates. They have had good reasons to support Eddie Andrews, Brad Sherman, or Adam Steen. Many have volunteered for these candidates, put signs in their yards, and told their friends about their vision for Iowa.
But much like my own race, the realities of the governor’s race have not unfolded as many had hoped.
No matter who you supported before, this race has now reached the point where every serious Republican voter has to look at the reality in front of us. If we continue to divide the grassroots vote, the only real loser will be the grassroots Iowan.
The answer to that reality is simple: it is time to vote for Zach Lahn.
Zach Lahn is now the only grassroots candidate with a realistic path. He has built a serious campaign without waiting for permission from political insiders. He has spoken to the frustration that so many Iowans feel, and he has pressed hard issues like agriculture, public health, and education. His campaign has drawn farmers and common Iowans who are tired of seeing their birthright sold off and the culture of their state left behind.
At every turn, Zach Lahn has engaged with the people of Iowa. Despite being last to join the race, he has campaigned tirelessly by getting out and speaking with real Iowans, and no other candidate has come close to drawing the same crowds. The agricultural and public policy issues he fights on are some of the most dangerous political topics to approach in Iowa, but he does it without reservation – because it is what the people need. His campaign is not built around preserving a status quo; it is built around the people who actually live here, work here, raise children here, farm here, build here, and worship here.
That is why I am supporting Zach Lahn.
At this point, the question is not whether your first choice was worthy of your support. Those candidates were. The question is whether Iowa Republicans can set aside their own personal investment and make the choice that is right for the state by rallying around the one viable candidate who represents the common interest.
If you have supported a different candidate before this moment, believe me: I know what it feels like to make that hard decision. I know what it feels like to set aside personal investment to make the choice that is right for our great state.
If I could do that with my own name on the ballot, then Iowa Republicans can do it on June 2.
No matter who you supported before, it is time to vote for Zach Lahn.
- Christian Schlaefer
Outstanding article by Christian Schaefer! Class act and as always right on target! Hope he doesn’t slip through our fingers in the future!!