Two millennial dads are making MAHA moms’ priorities a campaign strategy

GRIMES, Iowa — Zach Lahn looked out into a crowded room of potential Iowa voters. When he spoke, it was no surprise that the Republican nominee led with the two issues he’d brought up most often on the campaign trail: Iowa’s increasing cancer rates, and whether the state’s water has something to do with it. Low cancer rates is a pro-life issue,” Lahn said at his late-September event in the Des Moines suburb, nodding to his support for an existing statewide abortion ban.

We are going to clean up the water in Iowa and work alongside our farmers to do it.” At nearly the same time, about 10 miles south, Democratic nominee Rob Sand was speaking to a bigger crowd at a venue usually reserved for concerts. He was marking the completion of a 99-county tour of the state — his second in his more than year-long bid for governor. As Sand gave a rundown of his background, he also explained to the audience why he joined the Democratic Party in his early 20s and how faith played a role in his decision.

In a midterm election year where voters in other parts of the country are weighing which candidates will help address rising inflation and the growing costs of groceries, these millennial dads have also taken any chance they can to bring up health issues that have become priorities for Iowa voters: children’s health, nutrition and the role water may play in chronic health issues like cancer. These also intersect with the priorities of the Make America Healthy Again movement powered by women and moms. Kedrowski, a political science professor at Iowa State University and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

So the question is, which women do you want to reach and motivate?” Just weeks from Election Day, polling shows Sand is increasingly favored to win — the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the race as leaning Democrat. But in a state that has heavily favored Republicans in recent years, Lahn is still making his case to voters. Donald Trump in 2024 in Iowa.” The president ultimately won Iowa that year by more than 13 points.

Two years later, voters are expected to treat the midterms as a referendum on Trump’s return to office, which could hamper Lahn’s chances. But if he wins, the race could breathe new life into MAHA as a political campaign strategy after months of national infighting over policy priorities. It may also scramble how some national Republicans approach their 2028 aspirations, given Iowa’s importance as the first nominating state for Republicans.

Lahn’s two-part pitch is based on the badges of honor he seems to wear proudly: his identity as a dad and being a candidate supported by the MAHA movement that purports to focus on addressing chronic disease and improving overall health outcomes. He touts being the first candidate ever backed by MAHA Action, one of the political entities supporting like-minded candidates. At another town hall in early September, the 40-year-old Republican gave a shout-out to his wife, Annie, and their toddler-aged son, Fritz.