“This is home. And that’s worth fighting for.”
That message sits at the center of Zach Lahn’s campaign website as the Republican nominee for governor of Iowa.
But questions are now mounting over just how rooted Lahn is in the state he hopes to lead. As scrutiny grows over where the wealthy businessman has spent most of his time, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal that he sold high-end properties in Kansas and Montana in the months leading up to November’s election.
The findings raise fresh questions about Lahn’s campaign image as a “sixth-generation farmer” committed to a modest rural life in the Hawkeye State. While he was born in Iowa, records and his own public biography indicate he has spent much of his adult life beyond the state’s borders.
On his campaign site, Lahn is pictured with his wife, Annie Lahn, and their blended family of seven children walking through Iowa farmland — the same landscape that helps make the state America’s top corn producer.
The site also shows him driving through his small hometown, highlighting an all-American upbringing in Belle Plaine where he played quarterback for his football team and worked on the family farm.
Lahn has said he felt compelled to leave Iowa to “make my way,” but has described returning in 2014 after purchasing his great-grandmother’s farm.
“Everything I needed was right here,” he says in a campaign video. “By night, me and Annie sanded floors, hung drywall, and put this place back together one board at a time.”
Zach Lahn has made his identity as an Iowa farmer at the center of his campaign, despite questions that his wife and children still live in Kansas
Lahn appears to use a private plane to shuttle to and from Wichita, Kansas
But Lahn was still legally married to his ex-wife, Lauren, until June 2020, and a closer look at his background reveals an altogether messier picture.
Lahn’s new wife, Annie, was married to Chase Koch, the son of his ex-boss, the billionaire Charles Koch, until they divorced in April 2020. Lahn and Annie applied for a Montana marriage license just 11 days after his own divorce was finalized.
And despite Lahn wanting to lead Iowa, there are doubts over the amount of time he spends there. Flight records suggest he actually spends the majority of his time hundreds of miles away in Kansas.
It appears Lahn uses a private plane to shuttle to and from the family’s $1.2million six-bedroom estate in Wichita, Kansas. He appears to have begun flying to Belle Plaine more frequently after launching his campaign.
Aircraft data suggests Lahn spends only about 20 percent of his time on the Iowa farm, located near Buckeye Creek, that features in his promotional material.
It’s easy to see why Lahn would not want to give up the stunning Kansas property, which has an indoor pool and access to a private pond. The family had owned it since the summer of 2024, when it was listed as Annie’s primary residence, but in 2025, it was offloaded to one of Lahn’s donors for a single dollar.
Eight days after the transaction, Annie registered to vote in Belle Plaine, Iowa, in 2025. Lahn himself registered to vote in Iowa in 2024.
Had he declared the state as his primary residence just a few weeks later, Lahn would have been ineligible for governor in 2026, as the state constitution requires two years of residency to run.
Their Kansas estate has six bedrooms and is estimated to be worth $1.2million
He bought back his great-grandmother’s farm in Belle Plaine in 2014. He claimed he and Annie fixed up the house together, despite him still being married to his ex-wife Lauren until 2020
A month before launching his campaign, Lahn sold his Montana ski house for $5million
Before that, Lahn was a registered Republican in Kansas from 2018 to 2024, records showed.
The divorced Republican met his wife while working for Charles Koch’s political group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), as the Montana state director. The Koch family is worth $74billion, according to Forbes.
In 2018, Lahn worked with Annie, who was still married to Chase Koch at the time, to build a school called Wonder in Kansas. The school was funded by her and her then-husband.
Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor of Iowa, has called out Lahn for his lack of presence in the state he is running in, saying at a campaign event: ‘I would like to quote to [Lahn] one of his own ads: Iowa jobs are for Iowans.
‘God bless him. God bless Zach Lahn and his family with everything that they need down in Kansas. And God bless Iowa with a full-time Iowan as their next governor,’ he said, according to The Gazette.
Lahn’s Communications Director, Dan Capodilupo, however, insisted to the Daily Mail that the Republican does live in the state, saying: ‘Zach lives in Iowa, where he was born and raised, and where he works his family farm, with his wife and children.
‘Rob Sand pretends to be a moderate, but has spent the last two months lying about Zach’s family and specifically Zach’s children… Rob’s disgusting attacks have no place in politics. Instead of focusing on Iowa issues, he’s decided to make this his main focus.’
Lahn previously said his family would move to Iowa full-time if he were to be elected as governor, according to The Gazette.
Lahn has ties to Charles Koch, whose family is worth $74billion. He previously worked for Koch’s political group, Americans for Prosperity, as the state director in Montana
His wife Annie was married to Koch’s son Chase, pictured, until 2020
In October 2025, just before launching his campaign in November, Lahn offloaded a gorgeous Montana ski mansion for $5million, records show.
The ski-in, ski-out home, which is located on the side of the slope, was sold by Selah Group LLC, which is connected to the wannabe governor.
Lahn claims to be his own biggest donor, having funneled $2 million into his own campaign, which may have been from the proceeds of the Montana home sale.
He has criticized Sand for allegedly using his wife’s wealthy relatives, the Lauridsen family, to pump almost $12 million into his campaign, despite his own wife’s links to one of America’s wealthiest families.
‘[Rob Sand’s family] recently sold a $77million ranch in Colorado, and that’s helping to fund his campaign,’ Lahn told Iowa PBS. ‘There’s not enough discussion about where my opponent’s money is coming from.’
Emma O’Brien, Sand’s deputy campaign manager, told the Daily Mail: ‘Zach Lahn is a career political operative who can’t answer basic questions about where he lives or his background.
‘Iowans don’t know him and can’t trust him.’
Flight data shows that Lahn started spending more time at his farm after he launched his campaign in November
Lahn has said he is ‘not a politician,’ but he has spent years working as a political operative and has high-profile connections including RFK Jr
His Democratic opponent, Rob Sand, has called out Lahn for his dual residency and said Iowans should elect a governor who actually lives here. Lahn has said his family will move to Iowa full-time if he is elected
Lahn’s decision to portray himself as a humble farmer may have been inspired by Representative Ashley Hinson, who has campaigned with him.
Despite Lahn claiming he is ‘not a politician,’ the father has a long background as a political operative, having previously worked for the Montana Senator Steve Daines and the former Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, among others.
He also worked for many years for Koch’s AFP, where he spent his time as state director trying to block Montana’s expansion of Medicaid, which ultimately passed.
Hinson is running for a Senate seat and has depicted herself as a ‘working-class’ mom, all while sitting on a net worth of up to $8 million, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed earlier this month.
‘Zach Lahn is a Kansas carpetbagger with a private plane lifestyle, a multimillion dollar real estate portfolio, and a career spent as a political insider advocating to kick families off their healthcare,’ Terra Hernandez, a spokesperson for Iowa Democratic Party told the Daily Mail.
‘Hardworking Iowans worried about the cost of gas, groceries, and health care can’t trust Lahn, because he spends more time at his Kansas mansion instead of showing up for Iowans.’
Lahn narrowly beat Randy Feenstra, who was backed by President Donald Trump, in the Republican primary.
Lahn will face Sand in the general election on November 3.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Koch family for comment.
