Aug. 27, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET
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Oskaloosa, Iowa
At the start of all his campaign events, Democrat Rob Sand asks the Republicans in the room to raise their hands, followed by the independents. He then leads rounds of applause for both groups, before kicking off a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
“I like that he brings people together,” says Democratic voter Elizabeth Hanson, who has come to see the gubernatorial candidate at a coffee shop southeast of Des Moines.
It’s been two decades since Iowa elected a Democrat to the governor’s mansion. But this year, the state is suddenly fielding a host of competitive races. State Rep. Josh Turek, a Democrat, is running within range of Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for the state’s open Senate seat. Two U.S. House seats are up for grabs as well, after several cycles in which Iowa’s congressional delegation has been entirely Republican.
Iowans could elect a Democratic governor for the first time in two decades. National issues, such as the Iran war’s impact, and local ones, like herbicides, matter deeply in this tight race.
In the race to replace two-term GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, both major candidates are to some extent running away from their own parties.
Mr. Sand, the twice-elected state auditor – and the only Democrat in statewide office – is making a concerted pitch to win over not just independents but also Republicans. He steadfastly avoids culture-war topics on the stump, presenting himself as a pragmatist focused on issues affecting “100% of Iowans.”
His opponent, businessman Zach Lahn, won the Republican primary despite being relatively unknown and facing a candidate President Donald Trump had endorsed. He has broken with President Trump on certain issues, including his executive order shielding herbicide-makers from liability. But he also welcomed Mr. Trump’s endorsement after winning the nomination.
Almost 40% of voters in Iowa are registered Republicans, while just 29% are Democrats. Still, the most crucial voters – for both Mr. Sand and Mr. Lahn – are the 30% who are unaffiliated.
“The no-party voters, by and large, don’t care about the political infighting stuff. It turns them off,” says Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa. “What they do care about are the traditional kitchen table issues: jobs, economy, healthcare.”
Mr. Sand was leading Mr. Lahn by five percentage points and by 26 points among independent voters, in an Emerson College poll in early August. The same survey found that Mr. Trump was viewed favorably by 43% of Iowa voters, while 51% disapproved of the job he was doing.
Democrats have been busy highlighting all the ways in which Mr. Trump’s actions have been bad for Iowans – from tariffs that have squeezed farmers to the Iran war’s impact on the price of gas and fertilizer.
Most recently, Mr. Trump announced a deal to lower the cost of imported beef, drawing immediate criticism from Democratic and Republican officials alike. Mr. Sand called it “a blow to Iowa farmers and cattlemen,” and Ms. Hinson called it “a bad idea.”
“Democrats are taking advantage of the environment,” says Derek Eadon, an Iowa Democratic strategist. “The policies that we’ve seen from Trump have really hurt Iowa.”
Republicans are also being dragged down by the unpopularity of Governor Reynolds – whose poll numbers are almost as bad as the president’s – and a perception that GOP legislators have failed to deliver on promises, despite holding majorities in the statehouse. At the local level, some Republicans are openly unhappy with the status quo.
