EXCLUSIVE — Two of Iowa‘s top Democratic candidates are keeping former Vice President Kamala Harris at arm’s length as the party looks to capitalize on newfound momentum in the red-leaning state.
A campaign spokesperson for Rob Sand, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Iowa, told the Washington Examiner that the campaign does not want an endorsement from Harris, nor does it want her to appear at any campaign rallies or have any involvement with Sand’s campaign. The position marks a stark contrast with 2018, when Harris supported Sand’s successful campaign for Iowa state auditor.
Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek similarly does not want Harris near his campaign against Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Turek’s campaign told the Washington Examiner he has no plans to campaign with Harris and is not seeking her support. In 2024, Turek, an Iowa state representative, outperformed Harris by roughly 13 points in his district, illustrating the dramatically different political coalitions the two Democrats assembled in Iowa.
Iowa has become increasingly red during the past decade. Former President Barack Obama won Iowa in both of his White House campaigns. In 2008, Obama carried the state by 9 percentage points over Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Four years later, Obama defeated GOP nominee Mitt Romney there by nearly 6 percentage points.
In 2016, President Donald Trump won Iowa by 10 points over Democrat Hillary Clinton. He won it again in 2020 and carried it by 13.2 points over Harris in 2024 — the widest margin of victory for a presidential candidate in the state since 1972.
Yet, Iowa Democrats appear to be on the cusp of reviving their political fortunes statewide this cycle. This week, the Cook Political Report moved the Iowa gubernatorial race from a toss-up to leans Democratic. It also changed Iowa’s Senate race from leans Republican to a toss-up.
University of Iowa political scientist Timothy Hagle noted in an interview that Republicans hold a roughly 190,000-voter registration advantage in the state, a gap that has grown over the last several election cycles.
“We have an open Senate seat, an open governor’s race, and I think that the nominees in those races and sort of a lot of Iowa Democrats more generally sort of understand they don’t want to spoil that by appearing to be too far to the left on issues,” Hagle said. “And so if they were to associate with Kamala Harris, it could be a problem for them.”
The distancing from Harris in red states is not new for Democrats.
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Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola rejected a Harris fundraising email sent on her behalf last week.
“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 – her focus is and always will be Alaska,” a Peltola spokesperson told a local news outlet.