Des Moines, Iowa – Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as emcee Democratic candidate For the governor of Iowa on Sunday, as the countdown to November begins with the support of the governor of Kentucky. Andy Bashir.
The race for governor is between Sand and the Republican Zack Lane It’s expected to be one of the most competitive cities in the country as Iowans face state budget shortfalls and struggle Agricultural economics And the cancer crisis.
Even as Sand downplays partisan politics, Democrats place their faith in him Make a way in the country After an electoral struggle in recent sessions.
“We are all on our way to the heart of Iowa,” said Beshear, president of the Democratic Governors Association. Potential presidential candidate In 2028. “It is definitely time for a change, and I think Iowans know that Rob Sand will always put them first and lead in a way that uplifts families and doesn’t leave them behind.”
Sand, who was unopposed on the primary ballot, knew who his opponent would be after Tuesday’s primary decided an unpredictable result. Republic pentathlon competition.
Little known before his bid for governor, Lahn had great success as a business owner critical of farm consolidation and tax breaks for giant corporations, and a regenerative farmer who subscribed to Robert F. Kennedy’s plan. “Make America Healthy Again” movement. A former political activist who galvanized the conservative grassroots in Iowa.
Iowa has open races for both governor and U.S. senator for the first time since 1968, as well as three congressional races. National interest in the state has increased in recent months, attracting President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance To Iowa.
Democrats will face an uphill climb with a 200,000-person shortfall in voter registration statewide, outnumbered in every House district. Sand, along with Senate candidate Josh TurekThey say they can win over independents and Republicans who are frustrated with partisan politics and the Republican trifecta in Washington and Des Moines, which they blame for challenges the state faces.
Turek will face US Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has already portrayed Turek as a liberal puppet of party leader Senator Chuck Schumer.
Lan also rejected Sand’s nonpartisan offer.
“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lane said in his victory speech Tuesday. “He is a career liberal politician pretending to be someone he is not.”
Sand is vocal about his dislike of partisanship, his distrust of both political parties and his desire for divided government in Iowa. He says he thinks most Iowans feel the same way.
Even if Sand is elected governor in November, he will likely have to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, which recently passed bills to restrict executive branch power that outgoing Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law.
“I’m not here to tell you that the solution to 10 years of one-party control is to give the other party 10 years of one-party control. I don’t think that’s right,” Sand said Tuesday after casting his primary vote. “But I think it’s time to say enough to people who have had 10 years of one-party control. It’s time to have balanced government in Iowa.”
Sand and Lahn did not use their party’s traditional blue or red colors in campaign materials, choosing green instead. Both say they are not beholden to their party institutions, and that Iowans want a new direction, even though Lane’s Republican Party has held tri-state seats in the state for nearly a decade.
Sand’s campaign has given about $750,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party this cycle already, funding that Republicans have called hypocritical for a candidate who claims to be not a party man. Sand’s campaign says that sum reflects his investment in a coordinated, party-run campaign in the state that will help him get elected governor, even as it also supports candidates up and down the ballot.
As Democrats Continue the discussion What went wrong in 2024 and the party’s direction Beshear offered his example as a red-state leader for lessons on how to move forward for the party.
Beshear said he is trying to be “a voice of reason in the chaos” of the Trump administration, and that he is comfortable being included among the names of Democrats considering a run for president in 2028, even as he said he is focused on the crucial midterm elections.
In addition to rallying with Sand, Beshear will also be at a “Beers with Beshear” fundraiser for congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, who wants to unseat Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in the competitive House district that includes Des Moines. Bashir said he would also see Turek.
The Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, has given the Iowa Democratic Party about $140,000 so far this cycle, according to filing reports.