Politics · United States · 2 hrs ago
Rob Sand wins Iowa governor’s race, ending 20 years without a Democratic governor
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn and is projected to become the state’s next governor.
Sand, a Democrat who ran as a moderate, will succeed retiring Republican Gov.
Kim Reynolds.
His win ends a 20-year stretch without a Democrat elected governor in Iowa, a state Donald Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
Sand was the only Democrat holding statewide elected office in Iowa before the race.
The campaign focused on the economy, affordability, water pollution and rising cancer rates.
Sand pledged to raise the minimum wage and make health care and prescription drugs more affordable, while Lahn proposed tax cuts and support for small businesses.
Sand is set to take over the governorship from Reynolds; the sources do not give a date for the transition.
State Auditor Rob Sand won Iowa’s governor’s race, NBC News projected, becoming the first Democrat elected to the office in 20 years.
Sand defeated Republican businessman Zach Lahn and will succeed retiring Republican Governor Kim Reynolds.
Sand ran as a moderate in a state Donald Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
The campaign focused on affordability and the economy, as well as pollution from agribusiness and rising cancer rates in Iowa.
Sand pledged to raise the minimum wage and make health care and prescription drugs more affordable; Lahn pledged to support small businesses and cut taxes.
- Who
- Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn. Sand is Iowa’s state auditor.
- What
- Sand won the governor’s race, ending Republicans’ hold on the office.
- When
- The result was projected on November 4, 2026.
- Where
- Iowa.
- Why
- The sources do not state why voters chose Sand. The campaign addressed affordability, the economy, pollution and cancer rates.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Donald Trump carried Iowa by 13 points.
Zach Lahn defeated Representative Randy Feenstra for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Sand told NBC News that there was room for bipartisan agreement on pollution and cancer rates.
NBC News projected that Sand had defeated Lahn in the governor’s race.
- Winner
- Rob Sand
- Opponent
- Zach Lahn
- Office
- Governor of Iowa
- Previous governor
- Kim Reynolds, a retiring Republican
- Length of Democratic absence from office
- 20 years
- Trump’s 2024 Iowa margin
- 13 points
3 sources
What people are saying
I think there’s a lot of places of bipartisan agreement on this issue. It’s a really important one for a lot of people in Iowa.
I have a blended family, and my kids split time,
For a very long time, we have seen the nitrate load in our water increase year after year,
real solutions