Sand Announces Run for Iowa Governor

State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat in statewide elected office, is running for governor in 2026. 

Sand, a 42-year old Decorah native is an attorney and former prosecutor in the Iowa attorney general’s office and has served as state auditor since 2019. During an interview with Radio Iowa, Sand said it’s time for new leadership in the governor’s office.

Sand calls the state budget Republicans have developed a ticking fiscal time bomb because it relies on withdrawals from the state’s reserves.

Republican Terry Branstad returned to the governor’s office in 2011 and Kim Reynolds took over as governor in mid-2017. She’s signed five tax cuts into law over the last seven years. Sand says the state’s current flat income tax is of tremendous benefit to the wealthiest people in Iowa.

Sand also says it’s time to tax marijuana at the same rate alcohol is taxed.

In a clear signal that Sand was considering a run for governor, he raised over eight-and-a-half million dollars in the last calendar year. Republicans say the paperwork shows Sand’s family is trying to buy his political future. His wife and in-laws accounted for seven million dollars of his 2024 fundraiser. Sand says he has more small dollar donations than Governor Reynolds has ever had.

Sand says the governor’s decision not to seek re-election was not a factor in his decision to run for the office in 2026. A spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association says Iowans want a governor who will protect their values and tax dollars rather than just another extreme liberal.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa; photo courtesy of Rob Sand for Iowa/FB