Adam Steen’s Gubernatorial Campaign Faces Questions Over Outsourcing
Entrepreneur Adam Steen is campaigning for the position of Iowa governor, positioning himself as a job creator. However, his company’s decision to outsource production to China has sparked debate.
Steen is among several Republican contenders aiming to succeed retiring Governor Kim Reynolds. The victor in the June 2 primary will likely compete against Democratic state auditor Rob Sand in the general election.
In 2015, Steen co-founded 27:3 Outdoors, a hunting supply company with a Christian foundation, best known for its turkey fans. These devices mimic the shape and size of turkeys, enabling hunters to get closer to their prey.
In an October 2025 Instagram post, Steen acknowledged that the assembly of these fans occurs overseas. “When my friend and I invented the turkey fan, we wanted to build it right here in Iowa,” Steen explained. “But we couldn’t find a local manufacturer willing to take it on. In the end, we were forced to outsource to China, and it made me sick.”
Steen recounts this experience on his campaign website, asserting that it strengthened his determination to increase manufacturing in Iowa. However, his website does not outline specific policies to achieve this objective.
Steen is also an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump. According to Public Citizen, approximately 200,000 American jobs were offshored during Trump’s initial term. “Thank you President Trump for your fearless leadership and relentless commitment to putting Americans first,” Steen wrote on X last year.
Challenges to Steen’s job-creation narrative intensified following a recent campaign ad. In the ad, Steen pledged to “stop China from stealing the American dream,” accompanied by stock footage of farmland with the words “Keep Iowa Free.” Notably, this footage was filmed in Georgia, not Iowa.
The Cook Political Report, which assesses the competitiveness of political campaigns, currently classifies the Iowa governor’s race as a toss-up.
The post Adam Steen touts Iowa manufacturing despite outsourcing to China appeared first on American Journal News.
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