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The pursuing is the transcript of the interrogation with Zach Lahn, Iowa GOP nominee for governor, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected Oct. 4, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome backmost to Face the Nation. We crook present to the Republican moving for politician of Iowa, Zach Lahn. He joins america from Belle Plaine. Good morning.
IOWA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ZACH LAHN: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We look astatine diesel prices. They're northbound of six bucks. President Trump's commercialized warfare with Canada and China person made things costly for farmers. You cognize that good successful Iowa. Are the president's policies a headwind for your party?
ZACH LAHN: I deliberation erstwhile you speech astir what's going connected with affordability for farmers, and by the way, this is thing we launched our run connected successful the beginning. You person to instrumentality a measurement backmost and truly recognize what's been going connected for decades successful the agriculture industry, wherever we've seen consolidation aft consolidation of businesses taking prime and contention distant from farmers, we've reached monopoly stages there. And present what we're seeing with immoderate of the accrued prices connected diesel is benignant of conscionable different 1 of these pieces that's adding up to that. And we've been focused, you know, successful the authorities connected however bash we chopped the state taxation and different priorities to assistance farmers person much affordable substance erstwhile they spell into harvest. So this has been a portion of our run since the precise beginning, and I truly deliberation farmers recognize that for a agelong clip they person been treated arsenic terms takers, and truly the platform has been stacked against them. And present erstwhile you adhd successful the higher outgo of diesel, we truly person a problem.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well - you conscionable mentioned determination large AG. You are campaigning with a committedness to interruption up large AG monopolies. You said you're going to taxation the heck retired of Wall Street hedge funds that ain farmland. Those dependable much typically similar progressive policies than blimpish ones. How bash you person Iowa Republicans?
ZACH LAHN: Well, I conscionable accidental that, you know, breaking up monopolies was archetypal done by Republicans. The Sherman Antitrust Law is simply a Republican. Teddy Roosevelt broke up 2 of the biggest companies successful existence. A monopoly is simply a nonaccomplishment of the escaped market. I deliberation we forgot that successful ample part, and present we're paying the effect for it. So my precedence is to summation the backing to the Attorney General's bureau to instrumentality connected these anti-competitive lawsuits due to the fact that farmers crossed the state are waiting for idiosyncratic to instrumentality the archetypal measurement present and truly springiness them a just deal, and truthful I deliberation that these are ideals of the Republican Party. But really, they're conscionable the close ideas, the close happening to do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It's - it's an absorbing position, though, fixed that the enactment has typically been precise adjacent to the agriculture industry. I cognize you person focused successful your run connected the crab complaint successful Iowa. It has the 2nd highest crab incidence successful this country. You accidental it's nitrates and pesticides, including glyphosate, that origin it. President Trump signed an enforcement bid to boost accumulation of glyphosate based herbicides. How bash you reconcile those statesmanlike decisions from the argumentation you have?
ZACH LAHN: Well, I would conscionable accidental archetypal that I was 1 of the archetypal radical to travel retired and accidental that this was the incorrect determination to motion that enforcement order. I deliberation that if we could springiness the president the proposal connected that, that helium would recognize that better. But what we person focused connected a run that's focused connected Iowa issues specifically, and this is thing that Iowans are facing. We person the fastest complaint of caller crab anyplace successful the country, fig one. And if you determination retired of the authorities of Iowa to accidental a authorities similar Nevada, your accidental of getting crab immoderate fixed twelvemonth goes down by 40 percent. These are precise circumstantial Iowa based issues, and we've been focused connected them. High nitrate load successful h2o is 1 of the apical causes of colon cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, and we've got immoderate of the highest levels successful the country, if not the highest levels. So, we are focused connected providing incentives to farmers, existent incentives, to follow antithetic types of practices to let them the quality to truly alteration what they're doing to halt these products from getting into the streams successful the archetypal place, cleanable up our h2o astatine the source, and assistance farmers marque definite that they're not losing wealth by doing it by providing existent incentives that assistance them really marque wealth by adopting these practices. Because it truly goes backmost to farmers are operating connected razor-thin margins close now, and the thought to experimentation with thing caller is not precise appealing erstwhile you could beryllium the archetypal successful a enactment of 5 generations that loses your household farm.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right and that's 1 of the arguments - for continuing to usage this herbicide that has arguably ties to - cancer. Is that it's conscionable frankly inexpensive - Your position --
ZACH LAHN: Okay --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- You conscionable said if the president had much information, possibly marque a antithetic decision. Just for the record, RFK Jr., the HHS secretary, says helium opposed it. Told the president helium opposed it, and the president did it connected nationalist information grounds. But helium has been retired there, the HHS secretary. He's been campaigning for you. Many of your level issues are precise fashionable with the MAHA movement. Should America presumption your contention arsenic a trial of Kennedy's popularity?
ZACH LAHN: Well, I deliberation that Kennedy is precise popular, and Iowa is precise fashionable crossed the country. But it's much truthful the principles that helium represents, which are akin principles to what I represent. Look, we each privation steadfast kids. We privation cleanable water. We privation to marque definite we person little medications for our kids. We privation to lick these issues that person been causing a emergence in, you know, chronic illness, successful autoimmune conditions, not conscionable amongst kids but amongst adults, and we judge that nutrient is medicine. That it's the archetypal enactment that you request to beryllium looking astatine is, what nutrient are we putting into our body, and this is 1 of the reasons that a apical precedence of mine, my moonshot for the authorities of Iowa is to spot a time successful which 80 percent of the nutrient served successful our nationalist schools is grown successful the authorities of Iowa and we tin bash that. It volition instrumentality time, but this mightiness be, you know, the lone nutritious repast a kid has each time and Iowa has the champion farmland successful the world, the champion farmers successful the world. We tin bash this and pb the state connected it. And this is 1 of the archetypal steps that we tin instrumentality to truly marque definite that we're cleaning up our nutrient supply, we're getting kids steadfast food.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we volition proceed to ticker your contention - and spot if Iowa, arsenic you say, is -is an outlier present and possibly starting thing new. Thank you, Zach Lahn, for your clip today. We'll beryllium close back.
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