The following is the transcript of the interview with Zach Lahn, Iowa GOP nominee for governor, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Oct. 4, 2026.
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that → follow → Oct.
We turn now to the Republican running for governor of Iowa, Zach Lahn.
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We → turn → Iowa
He joins us from Belle Plaine.
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He → join → Plaine
We look at diesel prices.
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We → look → prices
President Trump's trade war with Canada and China have made things expensive for farmers.
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things → make → farmers
You know that well in Iowa.
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You → know → Iowa
I think when you talk about what's going on with affordability for farmers, and by the way, this is something we launched our campaign on in the beginning.
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we → think → beginning
You have to take a step back and really understand what's been going on for decades in the agriculture industry, where we've seen consolidation after consolidation of businesses taking choice and competition away from farmers, we've reached monopoly stages there.
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And now what we're seeing with some of the increased prices on diesel is kind of just another one of these pieces that's adding up to that.
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And we've been focused, you know, in the state on how do we cut the gas tax and other priorities to help farmers have more affordable fuel when they go into harvest.
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So this has been a part of our campaign since the very beginning, and I really think farmers understand that for a long time they have been treated as price takers, and really the deck has been stacked against them.
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deck → think → them
And now when you add in the higher cost of diesel, we really have a problem.
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Well - you just mentioned there big AG.
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You are campaigning with a promise to break up big AG monopolies.
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You said you're going to tax the heck out of Wall Street hedge funds that own farmland.
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that → say → farmland
Those sound more typically like progressive policies than conservative ones.
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How do you convince Iowa Republicans?
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you → convince → Republicans
Well, I just say that, you know, breaking up monopolies was first done by Republicans.
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Teddy Roosevelt broke up two of the biggest companies in existence.
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I think we forgot that in large part, and now we're paying the consequence for it.
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So my priority is to increase the funding to the Attorney General's office to take on these anti-competitive lawsuits because farmers across the country are waiting for someone to take the first step here and really give them a fair deal, and so I think that these are ideals of the Republican Party.
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But really, they're just the right ideas, the right thing to do.
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It's - it's an interesting position, though, given that the party has typically been very close to the agriculture industry.
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party → give → industry
I know you have focused in your campaign on the cancer rate in Iowa.
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It has the second highest cancer incidence in this country.
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You say it's nitrates and pesticides, including glyphosate, that cause it.
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President Trump signed an executive order to boost production of glyphosate based herbicides.
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How do you reconcile those presidential decisions from the policy you have?
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Well, I would just say first that I was one of the first people to come out and say that this was the wrong move to sign that executive order.
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I think that if we could give the president the advice on that, that he would understand that better.
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But what we have focused on a campaign that's focused on Iowa issues specifically
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, and this is something that Iowans are facing.
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Iowans → face → that
We have the fastest rate of new cancer anywhere in the country, number one.
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And if you move out of the state of Iowa to say a state like Nevada, your chance of getting cancer any given year goes down by 40 percent.
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chance → move → percent
These are very specific Iowa based issues, and we've been focused on them.
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we → base → them
High nitrate load in water is one of the top causes of colon cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, and we've got some of the highest levels in the country, if not the highest levels.
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So, we are focused on providing incentives to farmers, real incentives, to adopt different types of practices to allow them the ability to really change what they're doing to stop these products from getting into the streams in the first place, clean up our water at the source, and help farmers make sure that they're not losing money by doing it by providing real incentives that help them actually make money by adopting these practices.
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them → provide → practices
Because it really goes back to farmers are operating on razor-thin margins right now, and the idea to experiment with something new is not very appealing when you could be the first in a line of five generations that loses your family farm.
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Right and that's one of the arguments - for continuing to use this herbicide that has arguably ties to - cancer.
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Is that it's just frankly cheap - Your position --
ZACH LAHN: Okay --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- You just said if the president had more information, maybe make a different decision.
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…and 16 more, not listed.
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