Iowa GOP voters press candidates on cancer and nitrates

Iowa GOP – As Iowa heads toward its June 2, 2026 Republican primary for governor, GOP voters are pushing candidates to confront rising cancer rates and nitrate contamination in drinking water—pressures intensified by repeated talk of MAHA priorities and public mistrust o

For Tricia Busch, the question isn’t abstract. It’s personal.

The 35-year-old Ankeny resident brought her cancer experience to a February town hall hosted by Zach Lahn in West Des Moines. telling him that Iowa’s rising cancer rates are her biggest concern as both a survivor and a mom. “Going through the battle that I have. seeing our state’s rising cancer rates are my biggest concern as a survivor and as a mom. And I want to know what you’re going to do about the rising rates in our state and how to make our state healthy again for our kids to stay here.” Lahn called cancer the “number one issue” in Iowa and argued that Iowans have to confront “the elephant in the room. ” including the role big agricultural companies play in health.

Busch said after the event that she is an independent who has recently switched her voter registration to Republican because of Lahn. “I don’t see party anymore as a cancer survivor,” she said. “I see people and policies, and I want someone who’s going to fight for survivors like me. And that’s really, it’s my number one issue at this point.”.

The race itself—five Republicans competing for Iowa governor in the 2026 primary—has become a test of how candidates respond to two problems that voters are increasingly tying together: climbing cancer rates and nitrate contamination in water sources that feed drinking water systems.

Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers nationally and is one of only three states with rising cancer rates, according to the 2026 Cancer in Iowa report. On the campaign trail, voters have repeatedly asked Republican candidates how they plan to reverse that trend.

They’re also reacting to renewed water quality fears. Central Iowa Water Works has warned of another lawn watering ban amid high nitrates in the water supply. Water quality has long been a concern in Iowa. but the urgency has sharpened since Central Iowa Water Works implemented emergency measures last summer to address dangerously high nitrate levels in rivers supplying the area’s drinking water.

Those nitrates have been linked to certain types of cancer, and the state’s cancer statistics have helped push the issue closer to the center of Republican primary conversations—often in a way that cuts across traditional party lines.

Five Republicans are running for governor: Zach Lahn, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former state Rep. Brad Sherman, and former state administrator Adam Steen. Early voting is underway for the June 2 primary. The winner will face Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand in the general election.

Central Iowa nitrate fears are putting real pressure on the candidates, and it shows in the questions voters are asking as they crisscross the state.

At KCCI’s debate. moderators asked Andrews whether regulation is necessary to stop the flow of nitrates and other contaminants into Iowa’s water sources. Reynolds has repeatedly emphasized voluntary conservation practices and has insisted that “regulation is hardly ever the answer.” Andrews agreed that he does not believe in “unnecessary mandates. ” though he said some amount of regulation and direction from the state is necessary. He argued existing strategies are working and highlighted “regenerative farming” and “buffering,” saying those are solutions people want to do. “We’re all in this together. We want a healthier environment.”.

Andrews also pointed to GOP leadership on the issue. “Republicans have actually been leading on this issue, which, in many cases, people think is… more of a left-leaning issue,” he said. “So I would continue to do that and pour on the gas.”

Lahn. a farmer. businessman. and entrepreneur. has made water and cancer centerpieces of his campaign and has explicitly linked them together. He told the Register’s editorial board that “A high nitrate load in water is one of the top causes of colorectal cancer. which is one of the fastest killing cancers there is.”.

Central Iowa Waterworks took an unprecedented step last year by banning summer lawn-watering across the metro as it worked to filter dangerously high nitrate levels from its water supply. Utility leaders have warned another ban is likely this year.

The race’s tension isn’t only about the threat. It’s also about the gap between what voters see as immediate health risk and what they feel lawmakers have done.

Republican lawmakers who control the state government initially indicated little interest in addressing the issue beyond steps taken in 2018. Lawmakers did not advance any bills during the 2026 legislative session addressing water quality.

Then, in the final days of the term, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled a plan to direct $25 million to Central Iowa Water Works to upgrade its nitrate removal facilities.

Reynolds’ plan also would boost the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ water quality monitoring. increase funding for wastewater and drinking water treatment grant programs. and create a low-interest loan program for rural communities statewide seeking to upgrade their facilities. The funding—an anticipated $312 million over the next 12 years—would come by shifting money from existing but underutilized programs. her office said.

Lahn called the move to fund nitrate removal systems necessary, but said it does not address the underlying problem. “We have to make incremental change every chance we can – going in the right direction,” he said.

Arrowsmith. a 60-year-old Waukee resident and Republican. said eminent domain. private property rights. and water quality are the top issues he’s weighing. and water quality has become “very important to me.” He said he is glad Central Iowa Water Works can filter high levels of nitrates from the area’s drinking water. but noted that agricultural practices have changed since he was in high school in the 1980s.

In the same West Des Moines debate setting, Arrowsmith pressed Feenstra on what he would do about water quality and the state’s high cancer rates.

“We’ve got to make sure that we have the research,” Feenstra said.

Feenstra said it’s important that Iowans have access to oncologists, affordable health care, and screening options to prevent cancer. He also said Iowans should never have to worry about what’s in their water.

Arrowsmith said Feenstra’s response was “a good start,” and he believes more research should be done to identify the links between water quality and cancer. He said he wants a candidate willing to “put some skin in the game” as the problem grows.

“In the past, I mean, they did programs, but it was just kind of a Band-Aid, I felt,” Arrowsmith said. “Like trying to get farmers to put in waterways and buffer strips. I think it’s a good thing. But I mean, if that helps, we need to do more of it.”

Sherman, a state representative earlier in his political career, raised a different frustration: the trust deficit between the public and the medical establishment.

At KCCI’s debate. Sherman said there is a “serious level of mistrust in our public toward the medical establishment.” “So we have to get the kind of research that’s done by totally independent people that have no conflict of interest. Once we have that data, then it’ll be pretty easy to know what to do.”.

Steen, a former state administrator and a former leader of the Department of Administrative Services under Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds until he resigned to run for governor. said at the same debate that he would set up an enterprise focused on cancer within the Department of Administrative Services.

“We tackled some of the largest projects the state has ever tried to complete. We did it successfully. We did it on time. We did it under budget,” Steen said. “So I’ll do that on day one.” He called the effort “Iowa’s moon mission.”

The water and cancer demands are landing on voters at a moment when a Make America Healthy Again movement—led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—is gaining traction on the political right. The movement has put a spotlight on the health effects of agricultural chemicals and toxins in America’s drinking water.

That broader push has echoed directly into the Iowa campaign.

MAHA activists recently notched a major policy victory when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve an amendment to the farm bill that stripped pesticide labeling provisions opponents said would have shielded major companies from legal liability.

The amendment matters in Iowa partly because of the companies and products at the center of the national legal fights. Companies such as Bayer have faced lawsuits claiming their labeling. despite complying with federal requirements. failed to warn users of potential health risks. including cancer. Bayer has a major production facility in Muscatine.

Each of Iowa’s four Republican congress members voted for the amendment, including Feenstra.

After the vote, Iowa’s 3rd District Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn told the Register after the vote that “Iowa water, Iowa cancer rates and Iowa ag are all directly intertwined.”

In Iowa, many Republican voters also want their gubernatorial candidates to oppose glyphosate.

Lisa Cumings. a 45-year-old stay-at-home mom from Altoona and a registered Republican. said abortion and water quality are her two top issues this election season. She attended a Jan. 29 event with Steen in Pleasant Hill and asked him whether he agrees that chemicals such as glyphosate are linked to Iowa’s high cancer rates.

Steen spoke about lifestyle contributors to cancer, such as drinking and smoking. “We don’t live healthy lives,” he said. “So I refuse to point at one certain entity and say, ‘You’re the problem.’ We are all the problem, because it’s going to take all of us to figure this out.”

Cumings pressed him further, asking whether he believes glyphosate is a problem. “One-hundred percent, we need to research every single area of this,” he said. “It needs to be independent research, not paid for by an entity that’s running the show, so that we can actually get the bottom line.”

After the event, Cumings said she was glad Steen is open to researching the issue more. She said she’s worried about glyphosate, high nitrate levels, and other toxins in the state’s water.

“I’ve been following just natural and non-toxic ways to live our lives ever since I’ve had kids,” she said. “It’s so important.” She said Iowa’s political leaders aren’t taking the issue seriously enough. and she wishes the MAHA movement would go further. “I don’t think anybody in this state is taking the issue seriously,” she said. “Not from either side of the aisle.”.

The campaign debate over what counts as action—funding filters. expanding monitoring and grants. supporting voluntary conservation. or pushing for independent research—runs through every stop. Each candidate is responding to the same pressure point: voters who believe the health stakes are immediate. and who increasingly want the connection between water. agricultural chemicals. and cancer treated as a policy priority rather than a distant scientific question.

Iowa governor race 2026 Zach Lahn Eddie Andrews Randy Feenstra Brad Sherman Adam Steen Central Iowa Water Works nitrates drinking water lawn watering ban cancer rates MAHA movement Robert F. Kennedy Jr. glyphosate pesticide labeling amendment Kim Reynolds