FACT CHECK: More Lies in Zach Lahn’s Latest Ad

DES MOINES, IA – Yesterday, Zach Lahn released a new ad that follows the same pattern of nearly all of his ads so far – it’s filled with lies. Lahn’s latest ad includes several certifiably false statements. 

Here are the facts: 

Lahn’s False Claim: Lahn’s ad claims Rob Sand is funded by a company that gave him $13 million, “the most in Iowa history.” 

The Facts: Rob has never taken contributions from any corporation, and rejects corporate PAC money. The largest political donor in Iowa history is the Republican Governors Association, which has contributed $15.5 million to Zach Lahn himself and is funded by polluters that have poisoned Iowa’s waters, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and oil companies. Over 80 percent of the out-of-state candidate’s money comes from out of state.

Rob is proud of the record-breaking grassroots support this campaign has received, including from over 2,400 registered Republicans and 6,000 registered independent voters. Rob even has more grassroots Iowa Republican donors than Lahn does.  

Lahn’s False Claim: Lahn’s ad claims the company owned by Rob Sand’s in-laws makes the nitrate fertilizer contaminating Iowa water.  

The Facts: LGI does not make nitrate fertilizer. A subsidiary of LGI makes a feather meal product that can be added by its buyers to organic fertilizer; it is a byproduct made from ground poultry feathers that is better for the environment because it reduces leaching and causes less runoff than chemical nitrate fertilizer. 

Lahn’s False Claim: Lahn’s ad claims the company owned by Rob Sand’s in-laws was “caught polluting Iowa’s drinking water.” 

The Facts: The DNR cleared the company and deemed that elevated ammonia levels were not caused by the company’s facilities. Documents linked on Lahn’s own site show that the DNR found that the company’s facility did not have an impact on groundwater in the area.

The Facts: Zach Lahn is desperately lying in an attempt to change the subject and take attention away from the fact that he’s a career political operative who lives in Kansas, is out-of-state funded, and whose running mate is currently under criminal investigation and accused of defrauding farmers. 

The Facts: Rob Sand is the only candidate in this race with a plan to improve Iowa’s water quality and cancer crises.

The Facts: Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf have disqualifying records on this issue:

• Lahn spent his career as a political operative working for a dark money group funded by corporate polluters.
• Zach Lahn wants to ban mRNA vaccines, which have been found to be a promising treatment for cancers, including skin cancer.  
• His running mate, Derek Wulf, has taken “significant corporate donation[s]” from pesticide companies and “voted to protect farm chemical producers.”
• Wulf voted against water quality monitoring in the state legislature, and even wrote a bill aimed at protecting polluters from lawsuits by limiting lawsuits against agriculture operations based on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Facts: Zach Lahn is a career political operative who will do and say anything – including lying – to achieve his political aspirations. He’s been lying from day one of this campaign – about where he lives, his background, and his extreme views. Iowans can’t trust anything he says.

“Zach Lahn is desperately lying to try to take attention away from the fact that he’s a career political operative who lives in Kansas and whose running mate is under criminal investigation for defrauding farmers,” said Rob Sand Deputy Campaign Manager Emma O’Brien. “Rob Sand is the only candidate in this race with a plan to address Iowa’s cancer crisis, but Zach Lahn wants to make things worse by banning lifesaving cancer treatments. As a prosecutor and as State Auditor, Rob spent his career holding corrupt officials from both parties accountable. Unlike Zach Lahn, Rob Sand can’t be bought, and will serve Iowans – not a political party.”

Lahn’s previous ads have been subject to several fact-checks, including by KCCI, which reported that Lahn’s ad “omits context” and selectively edited their footage, and a KCRG fact check which reported that Lahn’s ad “lacks details,” and that the numbers they provided “[don’t] add up.” PolitiFact ran a piece today rating Lahn’s claims that Rob wants to raise taxes by $7,500 “false.”