Rob Sand says Iowans need to be convinced political balance is good
Rob Sand, Democratic candidate for governor, and his running mate Dave Muhlbauer visits Dunlap on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026.
Rob Sand, the Democratic candidate for Iowa governor, speaks to supporters after a campaign event at Central Standard Craft Beer and Burgers in Waukee on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026.
Zach Lahn, the Republican nominee for Iowa governor, speaks during the Triple-M Tailgate on Sept. 12, 2026, at the Highlander Hotel in Iowa City.
Rob Sand, the Democratic candidate for Iowa governor, told a campaign rally crowd earlier this month that he is aware of the hurdles the party’s statewide candidates have faced in the state for better than a decade.
Iowa Democrats have not won an election for governor or U.S. senator since Chet Culver was elected governor in 2006.
Sand is hoping to change that this fall, all while campaigning on his proclaimed distaste for the country’s two-party political system. He told the supporters gathered that there remains “a lot of work to do” in the final three-plus weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
Sand, the state auditor from Des Moines who is originally from Decorah, is running for Iowa governor against Zach Lahn, a Republican venture firm business owner from Belle Plaine.
“We know that the state still hasn't elected anyone but a Republican being governor in 20 years, so we're going to have to do some work to make sure that people feel comfortable and know that we can have balance in the state of Iowa again,” Sand said. “That we remind them of our history as a state that hasn’t been about being focused on being Democrats or Republicans, but one that’s focused on the Iowans.”
That message has resonated with many disaffected Republicans across the state. Among them: Doug Mindrup, of Waukee, who attended Friday’s campaign event.
Mindrup, who described himself as a lifelong, registered Republican voter, attended the event with his wife, Ellie, a self-described Democrat.
“I believe in the ideals of the Republican Party (like) less government. I’ve always been supportive of that,” Doug Mindrup said after Friday’s event. “But my choice has to be based upon character, and it has to believe in the man or woman doing the job, and I just can't do that right now with the Republican Party that I’m supporting.
“So my choice is to find somebody with integrity, somebody I can trust, and Rob seems to be that person.”
Mindrup also expressed frustration with Iowa Republicans and their gubernatorial nominee, Lahn.
“The Republicans in Iowa have abandoned their constituents,” Mindrup said. “Rob feels like he’s not there to back a party or an agenda, but to take care of Iowans, which I believe is a good thing.”
Lahn holds 4 events Friday
Lahn also spent Friday on the campaign trail, holding events in Jefferson, Indianola, Marion and Marshalltown.
And the state Republican Party worked on Lahn’s behalf Friday, holding a news conference to criticize Sand on fiscal policy.
Republicans have throughout the campaign pushed back at Sand’s self-description as someone who wants to govern in a nonpartisan fashion and eschews the two-party system. They continued to do so during Friday’s media event at the state party’s office, pointing to Sand’s past public support for Democratic presidential candidates, donations from prominent Democratic governors and donations to the state Democratic Party.
Tamara Scott, a Republican national committeewoman from Iowa, contrasted those criticisms of Sand to the reasons she believes in Lahn.
“I find Zach to be refreshingly sincere,” Scott said. “I believe he’ll preserve the Constitution, protect the constituents’ rights and be the kind of governor Iowa deserves.
“Unlike Rob Sand, who wants to take us the wrong direction, Zach Lahn wants to put Iowa first. Rob Sand has been a performer of rhetoric on the campaign trail. Zach Lahn is a producer of results that prevail,” Scott said. “Zach will fight for lower taxes, responsible government (and) affordable communities.”
