The term carpetbagger was originally applied to Northerners who moved South after the Civil War to launch political careers under the protection of military Reconstruction; it referred to the hastily procured bags manufactured from carpet scraps the transplants allegedly used. More recently, the term has been applied to politicians who conveniently relocate themselves into the vicinity of political opportunities. New York has often been a magnet for alleged carpetbaggers. In the 1960s alone, two former U.S. attorneys general, Robert F. Kennedy and Ramsey Clark, moved to the Empire State and ran for the Senate (the former successfully, the latter not so much), and a generation later, so did former Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton (like RFK, she won).

So in itself, the decision by conservative ex-lobbyist and businessman Zach Lahn to move from Kansas to Iowa in 2024 and then run for governor — winning the 2026 GOP primary in a big upset — isn’t so remarkable. Indeed, Lahn was born and grew up in Iowa, where his family had lived for generations, and owned property there.

What has made his case interesting — and for supporters of his Democratic opponent, Rob Sand, hilarious — is his difficulty making a clean break with it. He seems very involved in Kansas matters. He remains president of the board of an unaccredited Wichita private school he co-founded with his wife, albeit when they were both married to other people (in her case to a scion of the Kansas Koch family........

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