Josh Treat2026
Iowa governor, Republican primary
Senior advisor to Zach Lahn
Won a five-way primary over a sitting U.S. congressman and cleared the 35% threshold to win outright.
Results
Close races, decided by turnout. Certified results from campaigns I managed or helped lead.
2022
Iowa’s 3rd District, U.S. House
Campaign manager for Zach Nunn
Unseated a two-term incumbent by 2,066 votes, with a turnout program that ran up margins in 20 of 21 counties.
2018
Massachusetts governor
Field program for Gov. Charlie Baker’s re-election
Managed regional field directors statewide on weekly goals, caucus targets and turnout reporting.
2014
Iowa’s 3rd District, U.S. House
Political director for David Young
Directed field staff to 50,000+ voter contacts and built the turnout program behind a 10-point win.
Vote shares are from certified returns; the 2026 primary share is Zach Lahn's against the second-place finisher in a five-way field.
About
I have run state and federal campaigns since 2013: U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor's races, from a first field job in Iowa to managing a $2.6 million congressional campaign and advising a statewide one.
The work is the same at every level. Set the targets, build the program that reaches the voters who decide the race, hire people who can execute it, and keep the plan honest week by week. Most of what I know is about turnout and persuasion in close races, delegate and convention strategy, and building a campaign from nothing.
Lately that has included producing short-form video and interactive web content, and building Votes to Win, a campaign-planning web app for first-time candidates. I grew up acting and once planned to study film, which still shows in how I think about a message. When I'm not on a campaign I'm in Maine, where my family has been since the 1750s.
- Campaigns since
- 2013
- Largest budget managed
- $2.6 million
- Staffs led
- 5 to 40+
- Education
- B.A., Psychology, University of Maine
- Based in
- Lincolnville, Maine
Experience
- 2025 – now
Senior Advisor
Lahn for Governor, Iowa
Strategy, targets and weekly plans for a first-time candidate building a statewide campaign from zero; won a five-way primary over a sitting congressman, and now directing general-election strategy and voter targeting.
- 2023 – 2025
Between campaigns
Pine Island Camp, Maine
Fundraising, donor relations and the donor database for a nonprofit summer camp, with a seasonal staff of 40.
- 2022
Campaign Manager
Iowans for Zach Nunn, IA-03, U.S. House
Built and ran a $2.6 million campaign that unseated a two-term incumbent by 2,066 votes, with a turnout model and field program that ran up margins in 20 of 21 counties.
- 2017 – 2021
Campaign Manager and Political Director
Massachusetts Red Grassroots Action and John Kingston for U.S. Senate, Boston
Managed regional field directors statewide for Gov. Baker’s 2018 re-election; designed the delegate strategy that put Kingston on the Senate primary ballot; built a field data system the state party later adopted.
- 2016 – 2017
Campaign Manager, then District Director
Claudia Tenney for Congress, NY-22
Ran a seven-point win with eight staff and forty interns across seven county offices, then ran the district office.
- 2013 – 2014
Earlier campaigns
Iowa and Washington, D.C.
Political Director, Young for Iowa (IA-03); Deputy Campaign Manager, Schultz for Iowa; intern at FP1 Strategies in Washington.
What I bring
- Campaign strategy
- State and federal campaign management, voter targeting and turnout modeling, delegate and convention strategy, weekly goals and reporting.
- Public affairs and advocacy
- Grassroots organizing, coalitions with party and community partners, paid, earned and social media, press relations, event production.
- Fundraising and content
- Candidate and PAC fundraising events, major donors, small-dollar online programs; short-form video, interactive web content and games.
- Leadership
- Staffs of 5 to 40+, budgets up to $2.6 million, vendor management, public speaking.
- Data and tools
-
- i360
- GOP Data Center
- NationBuilder
- WinRed
- Anedot
- Advantage
- Mailchimp
- Constant Contact
- Microsoft Office
- Google Workspace
- AI tools
Projects
Votes to Win
A campaign-planning web app for first-time candidates: a free win-number calculator and a full campaign plan built from the district's own numbers.
Open Votes to WinFriends of Pitminster
A community site for the Somerset village church my family left in the 1630s: its history, the families who sailed from it, and a family wall.
Visit the site