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PLANE AND SIMPLE: Des Moines Register Exposes Zach Lahn for Living in Kansas While Running for Iowa Governor

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PLANE AND SIMPLE: Des Moines Register Exposes Zach Lahn for Living in Kansas While Running for Iowa Governor

New reporting from the Des Moines Register reveals that Iowa gubernatorial candidate and longtime political operative Zach Lahn “maintains a home in Kansas and flies to the state frequently” — and that he only re-registered to vote in Iowa in 2024, coinciding with the deadline to meet the state’s residency requirement to run for office.

Since October 1, 2025, Lahn has made 37 individual flights to Wichita, KS, an average of one flight every six days. According to flight data, Lahn’s plane has spent 75 nights in Kansas – compared to only 51 at his residence in Iowa. In total, since launching his campaign, his plane has been out of state just about as much as it has been in state, spending 90 days outside of Iowa compared to 95 in Iowa.

“Today’s revelation that Zach Lahn is attempting to carpetbag his way to the governorship while maintaining a residence in Kansas is a new low, even for Iowa Republicans’ crowded and contentious field of deeply flawed gubernatorial candidates,” said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy. “In what world would Iowans ever trust Lahn to put them first when he can’t even be bothered to live full-time in the state where he’s running?”

Read more from the Des Moines Register:

Des Moines Register: GOP governor candidate Lahn frequently flies to second house in Kansas

  • “Iowa First” Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn maintains a home in Kansas and flies to the state frequently in a plane he owns as part of an LLC.
  • Since Oct. 1, 2025, about a month before Lahn launched his campaign, publicly available flight logs show that plane making 37 individual flights to Wichita, Kansas.
  • Across 224 days, that averages to about one flight every six days.
  • He said he considers himself a full-time resident of Iowa. He purchased his family farm in Belle Plaine in 2014, and he said he made the full move back to the state in 2023.
  • Voter registration records show he was previously registered to vote in Iowa and last voted in 2016 before re-registering to vote in Iowa in 2024. He has voted in the 2024 general election and a 2025 local election.
  • According to the available data, which was tracked in Coordinated Universal Time, the plane in Lahn’s ownership spent 75 nights in Wichita since Oct. 1, 2025.
  • Comparatively, the data show the plane spent 51 nights in Belle Plaine and 44 nights in other Iowa towns.
  • There are 15 nights that indicate the plane was in other states.

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