Thomas Laehn — Candidate Profile

Party: Libertarian

Running in: Iowa Senate Race

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Thomas Laehn

LibertarianIowa Senate Race
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Summary

Thomas Laehn (born 1982, age 43) is the Greene County Attorney (2018-present) and Iowa's first Libertarian elected to a partisan office. A former university professor who taught constitutional law and political philosophy, Laehn is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian to challenge what he views as the corruption of the two-party system. He holds a B.A. from Drake University, studied at LSU and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was a professor at McNeese State University in Louisiana before returning to Iowa. He has been re-elected as Greene County Attorney as a Libertarian in 2022. Laehn is fundamentally opposed to the two-party system and argues that Congress has unconstitutionally delegated vast authority to the presidency, allowing executive orders to shape policy without proper congressional oversight.

Background

Laehn grew up in Allison, Iowa, to a pastor father and school librarian mother. He earned degrees from Drake University, LSU, and studied at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was a professor of constitutional law and political philosophy at McNeese State University in Louisiana. He moved back to Iowa and ran for Greene County Attorney in 2017, becoming the first Libertarian elected to a partisan office in Iowa. He was re-elected in 2021. A former intern of Senator Chuck Grassley, Laehn has deep knowledge of federal constitutional issues.

Sources

  1. Iowa Public Radio - Thomas Laehn enters Senate race
  2. The Gazette - Greene County attorney enters race as Libertarian
  3. Nonpareil Online - Greene County attorney announces campaign