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Donald Trump just took a loss in a major 2026 Republican primary, and it happened in Iowa.
Just days after Trump endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra for governor and called him “MAGA all the way,” Feenstra lost to businessman Zach Lahn.
The interesting part is that Lahn wasn’t exactly running against Trump. He was backed by plenty of Trump-world allies, including Turning Point Action and the MAHA PAC. So this wasn’t traditional Republicans beating MAGA. It was one faction of Trump’s coalition beating another.
But as they say: So Goes Iowa...
Donald Trump just took a loss in a major 2026 Republican primary, and it happened in Iowa. Just days after Trump endorsed Rep. Randy Feenst
It’s a blow for the president, who has seen most of his chosen candidates this cycle sail to victory or advance to runoff elections — until
A Trump-backed candidate lost the Iowa Republican primary for governor on Tuesday. Trump's influence on GOP primary voters is not as persistent as he'd like people to think it is.
Rep. Randy Feenstra lost the GOP primary for Iowa governor on Tuesday, a shocking upset after he earned President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement. Feenstra, who was narrowly defeated by rival Zach Lahn, conceded and called to congratulate him before results were official. The three-term representative outspent Lahn, a businessperson and former GOP operative, by nearly $1 million and leaned heavily into his MAGA credentials during the primary. The loss is a blow for Trump, who has seen most of his chosen candidates this cycle sail to victory or advance to runoff elections — until now. He backed Feenstra just four days before the primary, a last-ditch attempt to bolster his loyal GOP ally in a race that became increasingly competitive in the final stretch. Feenstra had asked for Trump’s endorsement earlier this year and began calling himself a “Trump conservative” in ads even before receiving the president’s backing.
Another GOP candidate named Adam Steen ran a distant third.
Regardless, Lahn will be facing the most popular Democrat in the state who just won his primary unopposed.
Lahn will face off with Democrat Rob Sand in November in the marquee race, with Iowa Democrats eager to win the governor’s mansion for the first time since 2006. Sand, the Iowa state auditor, is the lone Iowa Democrat to hold statewide office.
Rob Sand is seen as the favorite in the general election. He had been leading Feenstra in hypothetical matchups in polls by 8 to 12 points. Not sure if things would change much in a Sand v. Lahn race.
In general, this could be the best year for Dems in Iowa in 20 years.
Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra will try to unseat the congressman.
Randy is unclear about how democracy works, so let me break it down.
If someone does something you don’t like, you don’t have to vote for them. You CAN vote against them. Even if they are “an immigrant” (lol nice try with your subtle racism).
Toughen up, snowflake
Socons are the biggest crybabies.
A coalition of GOP figures, seeing King as a liability for the party, had supported the campaign of his opponent, former state Sen. Randy Feenstra.
President Donald Trump has been riding high after helping to defeat defiant Republicans—but that changed on Tuesday.
Emily Singer at Daily Kos:
President Donald Trump has been riding high after his successful efforts to defeat GOP candidates who dared to defy his demands—but that changed on Tuesday. Rep. Randy Feenstra, whom Trump endorsed, lost in the Republican primary for Iowa’s gubernatorial race, coming up short to no-name, carpet-bagging, anti-vaccine businessman Zach Lahn. Feenstra lost by less than 1 percentage point, with over 95% of ballots counted.
While Feenstra had Trump’s support, Lahn had the backing of Iowa’s powerful evangelical leaders who often serve as kingmakers in the state’s primaries. And this time, their backing proved to be more important than Trump’s. Feenstra’s narrow loss to Lahn marks the first loss by a candidate Trump endorsed in the 2026 midterm elections. And it raises questions about whether the candidates whom he endorsed won because of Trump’s backing or because of their own appeal to Republican primary voters’ worst instincts.
Trump, for his part, backed Feenstra only this past Friday—days before the primary—with one of his signature Truth Social posts. “As your next Governor, Randy will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Champion our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Empower Ethanol, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our incredible Military, Veterans, and Law Enforcement, Advance Election Integrity, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump wrote.
[...] As for Iowa, Trump’s inability to get Feenstra over the finish line leaves the GOP with an untested nominee whose positions on vaccines—he wants to ban COVID-19 shots and eliminate childhood vaccine requirements—could be a liability in the race. What’s more, Lahn had the support of former Iowa congressman Steve King, who was so overtly racist that he was publicly punished by his own Republican conference. It’s an endorsement that could bite him in a general election this fall.
In the #IAGov GOP primary, Donald Trump was handed a rare endorsement loss, as his hand-picked choice Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) lost to MAHA-aligned and Steve King-endorsed Zach Lahn. Lahn faces off against Auditor Rob Sand (D) in the general.
King's history of racist remarks had made him one of the controversial politicians in the country.
Zachary Basu at Axios:
State Sen. Randy Feenstra defeated incumbent Rep. Steve King in Tuesday's Republican primary for Iowa's 4th congressional district, according to the Cook Political Report.
Why it matters: King's history of racist remarks had made him one of the most controversial politicians in the country and a pariah within the Republican Party.
House Republican leadership stripped the nine-term congressman of his committee assignments in 2019 after he questioned in an interview with the New York Times how the terms "white nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization" became offensive.
The big picture: The Republican establishment coalesced around Feenstra beginning in January, when the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC became the first national GOP organization to publicly endorse and financially support him.
Feenstra, who has consistently dominated King in fundraising, had sought to paint King as an ineffective ally to President Trump, rather than campaign on his history of white nationalist rhetoric.
Feenstra's victory will likely move the seat into safe Republican territory for the general election in November.