Zach Lahn’s win in Iowa is a rare rebuke to Trump, who still has an iron grip on the party

While president’s last-minute endorsement of Randy Feenstra failed, he has enjoyed successes in Texas, Indiana and Kentucky Zach Lahn’s victory in Iowa’s gubernatorial primary on Tuesday is a rare instance of Republican voters rejecting Donald Trump, who has used his endorsement to elevate proteges and oust rivals nationwide ahead of the November midterm elections. In the race to replace Kim Reynolds, Iowa’s Republican governor, who is not seeking re-election, the president had given Randy Feenstra, a congressman, his “Complete and Total Endorsement”, which would normally be enough to see him to victory. Instead, Lahn, a farmer and businessman, won Tuesday’s Republican primary with 38% of the vote to Feenstra’s 37.2%, according to the Associated Press. The congressman’s shortcoming is unlikely to be an indication that the power of Trump’s endorsement had waned – a streak of victories has ousted Republican incumbents at the state and federal level. In recent weeks, Trump-endorsed candidates have triumphed over Thomas Massie, a Kentucky congressman; Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana senator; John Cornyn, a Texas senator; and five of the seven Indiana state senators who