State Auditor Rob Sand threw his hat in the ring for Iowa governor on Monday, elevating a Republican-held seat to a new competitive tier. Sand, 42, is the lone Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa and easily the strongest contender his party could have recruited for the opening. His candidacy warrants a rare “double jump” rating change, shifting this contest from Solid Republican to Lean Republican.
Sand’s characteristically casual announcement video calls for “more public service and less politics,” a reflection of his longstanding effort to brand himself as a workhorse above partisan mudslinging. He touts his work to expose a “record amount of waste, fraud and abuse” — as well as his prosecutorial role in the 2017 Hot Lotto fraud scandal — as evidence of his commitment to oppose “special interests and insiders” as governor. Allies say that type of populist, anti-corruption messaging will entice voters typically skeptical of Democrats to give Sand a second look.
Sand, who prides himself on talking with voters of all ideological viewpoints, was first elected auditor in 2018 after serving seven years as
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