Republican President Donald Trump said he wasn't "given the proper information" before endorsing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra's losing primary bid in Iowa's Republican governor's race.
At a Thursday, June 11, news conference, Trump was asked by reporters whether he regretted the endorsement in Iowa.
"Had I been given the proper information, which I don't think I was, I probably would have endorsed the other person," Trump said. "But — or not endorsed at all. But I would have endorsed the other person. The other person was much more Trump, as you know, than Randy."
Feenstra, the presumed favorite, narrowly lost to businessman and farmer Zach Lahn, a MAHA favorite. Lahn took 37.9% of the vote to Feenstra's 37%.
More: Zach Lahn announces Derek Wulf as running mate in Iowa governor's race
Feenstra worked hard to persuade voters he was the MAGA standard-bearer for the Iowa Republican Party, emphasizing at every turn his closeness to the president and his agenda.
Trump withheld his endorsement in the governor race for months, finally bestowing it upon Feenstra just days before the June 2 primary election.
Some Republican political operatives said it was "too little, too late" for Feenstra.
"The man running against him was all Trump," the president said Thursday.
Lahn has run an "Iowa First" campaign that mirrors many of the president's talking points, and many Iowa Republican grassroots voters said they saw him as a more effective messenger for the MAGA movement than Feenstra.
The bet on Feenstra was a rare loss for the president during the midterm primaries, whose endorsed candidates have otherwise notched victories both in Iowa and around the country this year.
https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/06/11/trump-regrets-endorsing-randy-feenstra-lahn-iowa-governors-race/90514351007/
At a Thursday, June 11, news conference, Trump was asked by reporters whether he regretted the endorsement in Iowa.
"Had I been given the proper information, which I don't think I was, I probably would have endorsed the other person," Trump said. "But — or not endorsed at all. But I would have endorsed the other person. The other person was much more Trump, as you know, than Randy."
Feenstra, the presumed favorite, narrowly lost to businessman and farmer Zach Lahn, a MAHA favorite. Lahn took 37.9% of the vote to Feenstra's 37%.
More: Zach Lahn announces Derek Wulf as running mate in Iowa governor's race
Feenstra worked hard to persuade voters he was the MAGA standard-bearer for the Iowa Republican Party, emphasizing at every turn his closeness to the president and his agenda.
Trump withheld his endorsement in the governor race for months, finally bestowing it upon Feenstra just days before the June 2 primary election.
Some Republican political operatives said it was "too little, too late" for Feenstra.
"The man running against him was all Trump," the president said Thursday.
Lahn has run an "Iowa First" campaign that mirrors many of the president's talking points, and many Iowa Republican grassroots voters said they saw him as a more effective messenger for the MAGA movement than Feenstra.
The bet on Feenstra was a rare loss for the president during the midterm primaries, whose endorsed candidates have otherwise notched victories both in Iowa and around the country this year.
https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/06/11/trump-regrets-endorsing-randy-feenstra-lahn-iowa-governors-race/90514351007/
