Zach Lahn

And I wanted them to understand that deep story and connect to it.

It was never because I wanted to run for office.

I actually don't even want to be a politician.

But I remember after I bought the farm, I was down in the basement.

I had signed the papers, came to the farmhouse.

I was down in the basement.

I was leaning against a wooden post in the basement.

This has actually happened.

And I just said to myself, what am I doing?

This place needs so much work.

It's going to take forever.

It was a stretch to buy it in the first place to get the loan.

And I'm leaning on this post and I turn and the posts are the initials VL is my grandpa.

And I just said to myself, this is why I'm doing it.

Because these things truly matter.

That we don't forget where we came from.

And so bringing this into what you just talked about, that's what's at stake.

That's what's being taken from us.

And so me deciding to run for governor was a choice of wanting to throw everything I have in to protect the culture that helped build my state, build my people, and say, it's worth preserving.

Like, this is worth preserving.