Iowa’s State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, announced a run for governor in 2026.
Sand is currently the only Democrat in a statewide elected office in Iowa after being elected to the state auditor position in 2018, defeating the Republican incumbent Mary Mosiman. He said he was running because “we need more public service and less politics.”
“A lot of politicians yap about making a place redder or bluer. I want Iowa to be better and truer,” Sand said in a video announcement.
Sand touted his experience as a prosecutor and creating cost-cutting methods in the Iowa state government.
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) announced last month she would not seek reelection. A number of Republicans are considering a gubernatorial run, including Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, and Iowa Attorney General Breanna Bird. Former Republican State Rep. Brad Sherman already announced his bid.
Sand is entering the race with more than $8 million in campaign contributions.
One big change Sand said he would push for, if elected governor, would be legalizing marijuana in the state.
“There’s a couple of things that are very easy to do. Number one, treat marijuana the same way we treat alcohol. Right. Iowans are leaving the state, bringing their dollars to other states, filling their state government coffers. For that, let’s do it here in Iowa. I think that that’s the right thing to do. That would have a tremendous impact,” Sand told NBC 13 Des Moines.
In 2024, neighboring Illinois generated $490 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales.
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The once swing state has been trending Republican in the last several election cycles. Sand acknowledged the challenging race ahead, noting his reelection to the state audit position in 2022. He was the only Democrat to win a statewide office that year.
“The Iowans that we’re talking about — who voted for Donald Trump, then me, then Donald Trump, then me, then Donald Trump — I think they’ll vote for me again,” Sand told KCCI Des Moines. “They know me. They know that my approach to things is not really Democratic. It’s not Republican either.”