Opinion: Lahn’s governor bid doomed from the start
“I’ve got a headline for your column,” said a young Republican supporter at Ashley Hinson’s election night party. “‘Ashley Hinson: Hard fought race; Zach Lahn: Hog fart race.’” Yeah, that wasn’t going to work for a headline. But in its own crude way, it did seem to sum up the campaigns of Iowa Republicans’ two top-ticket candidates, both of whom came up short Tuesday night. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson was the best candidate the Iowa GOP could have hoped to field in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst. She had a history of winning, strong support from the Republican voting base, top-notch work ethic, excellent campaign staff and a solid ground game. But sometimes you can do everything right and it’s still not enough. Standing in front of Hinson happened to be the best candidate Democrats could have hoped for. Standing to her side, however, were an erratic, unpopular Republican president and an aloof, uninspiring Republican gubernatorial candidate. Zach Lahn’s race could indeed be compared to the scent of swine flatulence. His message stank. His campaign organization stank. His effort stank. His choice of running mate? PEE-YEW. There was never a time when I thought Lahn had a chance
