Rob Sand (D) Defeats Zach Lahn (R) to Win Iowa Governor’s Race

Democrat Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn to win the Iowa governor's race and become the first Democrat elected to the post since 2006.

Sand ran without opposition in the Democratic primary and had served as state auditor since his 2018 election win. He had led in polls before Election Day.

Lahn, a 40-year-old farmer and businessman, won the Republican primary by less than a percentage point over U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. He gained backing from the Make America Healthy Again movement and later got help from Donald Trump, who had won Iowa by more than 13 points in 2024.

Sand campaigned on raising the minimum wage and lowering health care and drug costs. Lahn focused on helping small businesses and cutting taxes.

Sand said he would push back against Republican tax cuts that added to the budget deficit and against culture war measures. Lahn faced questions about his recent move to Iowa and past voting in Kansas.

Sand is expected to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate.

Verified Facts

Democrat Rob Sand wins the Iowa governor's race. (Bloomberg News, CBS News, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian)
Rob Sand defeats Republican Zach Lahn. (CBS News, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian)
Rob Sand is the first Democrat elected Iowa governor since 2006. (CBS News, The Guardian)
Zach Lahn defeated President Trump's pick in the GOP primary in May. (CBS News)
Donald Trump won Iowa by over 13 points in 2024. (CBS News, NBC News)
Zach Lahn is 40 years old. (CBS News, NBC News)
Zach Lahn is a farmer and businessman. (CBS News, NBC News)
Donald Trump endorsed Zach Lahn's opponent in the primary but later campaigned for Lahn. (CBS News)
Rob Sand ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. (CBS News)
Zach Lahn pulled off an upset against Rep. Randy Feenstra in the Republican gubernatorial primary. (NBC News, PBS NewsHour)
Zach Lahn claimed Rob Sand’s wife’s company polluted Iowa’s waterways. (NBC News)
Donald Trump endorsed Zach Lahn after the primary and appeared at rallies in Iowa. (NBC News)
Rob Sand pledged to raise the minimum wage and make healthcare and prescription drugs more affordable. (NBC News)
Zach Lahn pledged to boost Iowa’s small businesses and cut taxes. (NBC News)
Rob Sand will likely work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate. (PBS NewsHour)
Rob Sand criticized Republicans for ignoring a worsening budget deficit from tax cuts and education savings accounts. (PBS NewsHour)
Rob Sand said he would be a check on Republican efforts to push culture war bills. (PBS NewsHour)
Zach Lahn won the primary by less than a percentage point over U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. (PBS NewsHour)
Rob Sand held annual county town halls and was active on social media about eating around the state and bowhunting. (PBS NewsHour)
Zach Lahn criticized Rob Sand for millions of dollars from his wife and in-laws to the campaign. (PBS NewsHour)
Rob Sand was a prosecutor under a Democratic state attorney general before running for auditor in 2018. (PBS NewsHour)
The New York Times reported in October that although Zach Lahn voted in Iowa in the 2024 general election, he had his ballot mailed to him in Kansas. (The Guardian)
Zach Lahn faced scrutiny for his complicated ties to the Koch family. (The Guardian)
Rob Sand emphasized bipartisanship and problem-solving on the campaign trail. (CBS News)
Iowa has become steadily more Republican over the past decade. (CBS News)
Zach Lahn sought to cast Rob Sand as too liberal for Iowa. (CBS News)
Iowa has been hit hard by tariffs, oil and gas prices and the Iran war. (CBS News)
Sand and Lahn sparred often about the economy and making life more affordable. (NBC News)
Rob Sand has been the only Democrat serving in statewide elected office. (PBS NewsHour)
Rob Sand kept the Democratic Party at arm's length. (PBS NewsHour)
The open race shook up Iowa's recent political conventional wisdom and revived the state as battleground territory. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn's general election campaign was scaled up quickly after his surprise win in the June primary. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn pushed back on traditional Iowa GOP positions. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn boasted that he had already been successful in changing the narrative within the Republican Party. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn leaned on traditional party positions in debates, saying Sand would be a liberal governor who would raise taxes, increase regulations and push a political agenda in public education. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn has explained frequent flights to Kansas as a result of his blended family. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn's blended family explanation did not drive away voters at the polls. (PBS NewsHour)
At campaign events Sand would lead crowds in singing America the Beautiful. (The Guardian)
Sand had been leading in the polls ahead of election day. (The Guardian)
Rob Sand was first elected state auditor in 2018. (CBS News)
Rob Sand made a campaign trip. (CBS News)
Rob Sand outraised Zach Lahn and hit Lahn for voting in Kansas recently. (CBS News)
Iowa Democrats cast Zach Lahn as a carpetbagger because he lived and voted in Kansas until recently. (NBC News)
Rob Sand won his last election. (PBS NewsHour)
Lahn prevailed in the primary with only about a third of Republican voters supporting him. (PBS NewsHour)