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US Politics

Democrat Rob Sand wins Iowa governor's race, his party's first since 2006

Sand, the state auditor, beat Republican Zach Lahn in a state that Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024.

Rob Sand in 2025
Rob Sand in 2025. Photo: Rob Sand for Governor, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
14 news outlets reported this
Liberal8 outletsa Democratic flip in a Trump-won stateCenter2 outletsSand's win and its first-since-2006 markConservative4 outletsSand's win, plus scrutiny of both candidates
Published 3 min read
Overview

Democrat Rob Sand, Iowa's state auditor, won the race for governor on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican Zach Lahn. He is the first Democrat elected Iowa governor since 2006. He succeeds Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is leaving office.

Iowa voted for Donald Trump by 13 percentage points in 2024. Lahn, a farmer and businessman, won the in May over a candidate Trump had endorsed. Trump and Vice President JD Vance then campaigned for him.

The Associated Press called the race for Sand. Where Lahn lives was a campaign issue. Sand said in a campaign ad, "We live in Iowa, he doesn't," and Lahn told the Epoch Times he spends "very little" time in Kansas, where he goes to pick up his kids.

Sand ran as a moderate and criticized the two-party system. The Guardian reports that Democrats netted "historic victories" in governor's races nationwide, including Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, who became the first Black woman elected governor in the country.

Key figures
  • 56.4 percent of the vote, or 697,708 votes Sand's share with an estimated 89 percent counted, per Breitbart — Breitbart News
  • 43.6 percent of the vote, or 539,440 votes Lahn's share at the same point, per Breitbart — Breitbart News
  • 13 percentage points Trump's margin in Iowa in 2024 — The Seattle Times
  • 1,700 votes Lahn's margin in the May Republican primary, per CBS News — CBS News

Three sides of the story

Liberal8 outlets

a Democratic flip in a Trump-won state

The Daily Beast headlines the result as a "Stunning Blow to Trump" and describes Iowa as a deep red state flipped, then details Lahn's Kansas ties, including a Strava account it says it revealed. CBS News projects the win and notes that Lahn beat Trump's pick in the primary, that Trump, Vance and Hegseth still campaigned for him, and that , fuel prices and the Iran war hit the state. The Guardian says the win came as Democrats "netted historic victories" in governor's races nationwide, and quotes Sand on "10 years of one-party control."

Mother Jones, in a piece by the writer of a Sand profile, calls the result a Democratic resurgence. It points to the unpopularity of outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds, her voucher program, and tariffs and diesel costs hurting farmers. CBS News, The Guardian and Mother Jones also describe Sand's anti-partisan, bipartisan pitch.

Center2 outlets

Sand's win and its first-since-2006 mark

The Seattle Times reports that Democrat Rob Sand beat Republican Zach Lahn in Tuesday's Iowa governor election. It says no Democrat had won the office since 2006, the last year with an open race for governor. The paper describes Sand, the state auditor, as a moderate who stressed his rural upbringing, and sets the result against Donald Trump's 13-point win in Iowa in 2024.

Lahn appears as a farmer who is a former conservative political director and owns an investment company. The Seattle Times gives the time of the Associated Press call as 11:12 p.m. EST. NewsNation reports that Sand defeated Lahn and calls the contest one of the closest-watched races in the country.

Conservative4 outlets

Sand's win, plus scrutiny of both candidates

Breitbart News leads with the result, then gives the count, Sand at 56.4 percent with an estimated 89 percent of votes in. It then reviews Sand's record, including calling himself "extremely liberal" in 2003, his church, and a $250,000 contribution from Reid Hoffman. The Epoch Times reports Sand won "in a landslide," notes the Cook Political Report moved the race to Lean Democrat, and presses on Lahn's Kansas ties, quoting him: "Very little.

I go there to pick up my kids." The Blaze says Iowa "picks a Democrat," cites its poll watch showing Sand ahead, and quotes BlazeTV host Steve Deace on "Fifteen years of work essentially goes down the drain." Townhall reports Decision Desk HQ projects the win and sets Lahn's and Sand's posts on agriculture and education side by side.

All sources: 14 articles from 14 outlets

Liberal (8)

Center (2)

Conservative (4)

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