Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand won Iowa’s gubernatorial election Tuesday, defeating Republican Zach Lahn in the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and ending Republican control of the governor’s office in a state President Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024.
The Associated Press (AP) declared Sand the winner at 10:12 p.m. Tuesday. With an estimated 89 percent of votes counted, Sand had received 56.4 percent of the vote, or 697,708 votes, compared with Lahn’s 43.6 percent, or 539,440 votes.
Lahn secured endorsements from MAHA PAC, former Rep. Steve King (R-IA), and Steak ‘n Shake. The restaurant chain endorsed Lahn ahead of the June primary, describing him as the “only MAHA-supporting candidate,” while MAHA PAC President Tony Lyons credited Lahn with making the transition away from toxic chemicals a central campaign issue.
Sand received support from prominent Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Sand previously served as co-chair of Joe Biden’s 2020 Iowa campaign. His gubernatorial campaign also accepted a $250,000 contribution from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, whose past interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were documented in Justice Department records.
As a Brown University student in 2003, he described himself as “extremely liberal,” and in 2019, he defended the contents of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) proposed Green New Deal against Republican criticism. Sand also opposed a February 2025 Iowa bill defining 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 attends Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines, which identifies 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 resources for children as young as five that introduce topics such as transgender identity and gender expression.
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