Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand has won election as Iowa’s next governor, defeating Republican Zach Lahn and ending Republican control of the governor’s office as Gov. Kim Reynolds prepares to leave the post.
The Associated Press called the race for Sand at 10:12 p.m. Tuesday. With roughly 89 percent of the vote counted, Sand led with 56.4 percent, or 697,708 votes, to Lahn’s 43.6 percent, or 539,440 votes.
The outcome marks a shift for a state President Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024.
Who ran, and who backed them
Lahn drew endorsements from MAHA PAC, former Rep. Steve King (R-IA), and the restaurant chain Steak ‘n Shake, which backed him ahead of the June primary and called him the “only MAHA-supporting candidate.” MAHA PAC President Tony Lyons said Lahn had made moving away from toxic chemicals a central issue of his campaign.
Sand, meanwhile, was supported by a roster of national Democratic figures, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. He previously served as co-chair of Joe Biden’s 2020 Iowa campaign. His campaign also took a $250,000 donation from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, whose past contacts with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been documented in Justice Department records.
Sand’s record and background
As a Brown University student in 2003, Sand described himself as “extremely liberal.” In 2019 he defended the substance of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) Green New Deal proposal against Republican attacks. In February 2025, he opposed an Iowa bill that would have defined sex as “either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth,” writing, “My faith drives me to believe that legalizing discrimination is wrong, and HSB 242 is wrong.”
Sand is a member of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines, which describes itself as an “LGBTQ+ Open & Affirming Congregation.” The church hosted a concert by drag performer Flamy Grant in May 2025 and promoted a “family friendly” drag event in February 2026. It also offers “Our Whole Lives” sexuality education programming, including materials for children as young as five that cover topics such as transgender identity and gender expression.
Sand will succeed Reynolds, a Republican, as governor following the election.
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