Democrat vies for Iowa’s open governor seat

SIOUX CENTER—Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, 42, wants to go from being the only Democrat who holds a statewide office to the highest-ranking office in state government. Now that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced she will not seek reelection, Sand might have a chance. If he wins, the flip could provide a boost to the Democratic Party, still wounded from losing major races in 2024.

Though Iowa has been a reliably red state since 2016, state Democrats see an opportunity for a resurgence in November 2026 without President Donald Trump on the ballot. But Republicans are also vying for the open governor’s seat, fighting to keep the state in the GOP column.

Sand’s path to victory might lie between the two parties. Although Iowa’s nearly 700,000 Republicans outnumber Democrats by over 190,000 active voters, roughly 550,000 voters identify as no-party, Iowa’s version of independents. According to Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, this group tends to favor incumbents but pays less attention to politics. Many dislike the Democratic Party’s national platform, he said, but care about everyday issues like the job market, economy, and education.

So far, Sand’s early campaign has catered to this voting bloc. Instead of commenting on the Trump administration’s latest actions, he has tailored his message to Iowa’s economy. His website does not have a policy positions section. In a campaign launch announcement, Sand said he’d use his auditor experience to lower costs, increase spending transparency for taxpayers, and work with both parties.

During his tenure in Des Moines, he has sparred with Republicans. Sand also opposed last year’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling that protected unborn babies past six-weeks’ gestation, calling it a Republican attempt to interfere with medical decisions. In 2020, he conducted an audit that found Reynolds used $21 million of COVID-19 relief money on unrelated contracts, though a state ethics board later found that Reynolds did not violate any laws. He started a government efficiency program in 2019 and claims to have uncovered more than $29 million in wasteful spending.

“I’m [running] because we need more public service and less politics,” Sand said in his announcement on social platform X. “A lot of politicians yap about making a place redder or bluer—I want Iowa to be better and truer.”

Historically a swing state, Iowa had trended deeper into Republican territory since 2016. The state elected Trump that year with a 51.1% vote, although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote. Trump’s margin of victory in Iowa continued to rise: In 2020, he garnered 53.1% of the vote and 56% in 2024. Republicans have supermajorities in the state House and Senate, and they hold all statewide offices aside from Sand’s. Iowa state Sen. Jeff Taylor, who also teaches political science at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, calls this the “Trump effect.”

Iowa’s two U.S. senators and four House members are all Republicans. The last time Iowans elected Democrats to represent them in Washington was 2018, but one left office in 2021 and the other lost reelection in 2022.

Hagle, the University of Iowa politics professor, said after a big win like Trump’s in November, state and local elections will often swing to the other party. However, that swing might not happen this election cycle—it may be too soon.

But Taylor thinks that, without Trump on the ballot, the state will turn purple again. More Democratic candidates tend to get elected non-presidential election years.

“Sometimes people just get tired of the same party in power that long,” Taylor said. “Well, the only way to get rid of the existing party in power is to vote for the opposite party.”

Reynolds, the current governor, has the lowest voter approval rating of all U.S. governors. More residents disapprove of her than approve of her, according to Morning Consult’s governor approval rating tracker. Taylor said conflicts over school choice and eminent domain law have turned no-party voters against her, and Reynolds’ support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 caucuses turned Trump supporters against her, too. Taylor said Republican candidates may need to distance their platforms from Reynolds to succeed in the primaries on June 2, 2026.

But a crowded Republican field could also give Sand an opportunity to win over voters. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and Brad Sherman, a pastor and former state representative, have already announced their campaigns, largely on a pro-Trump platform. Republican state Sen. Mike Bousselot announced he’s forming an exploratory committee, and both Taylor and Hagle said state Attorney General Brenna Bird may also run.

“If Republicans are wounded coming out of their primary fight, that makes it easier for Sand,” Hagle said.

A graduate of Brown University and the University of Iowa Law School, Sand formerly served as Iowa’s assistant attorney general and chief public corruption prosecutor. He was first elected state auditor in 2018, beating incumbent Republican Mary Mosiman. In 2022, he won reelection by just under 3,000 votes.

While Sand’s news release called those wins “historic,” Iowa’s Republican Party committee called the narrow margin in 2022 evidence of decreasing support. Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann has accused Sand of trying to buy the Democratic nomination for governor. Of the $8 million in campaign funds Sand has raised so far, his family donated to $7 million, according to 2024 campaign finance reports acquired by The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Neither the Iowa GOP nor the Iowa Democratic Party responded to requests for comment in time for publication. Sand’s campaign also did not respond to a request for comment.