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Iowa governor candidate Rob Sand ends statewide tour with reform message
Sand says Iowans are tired of partisanship and want leaders focused on fixing real problems — from water quality to education and health care
Oct. 22, 2025 9:14 am, Updated: Oct. 22, 2025 10:17 am
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DECORAH — Rob Sand wrapped up his 100 Town Hall Tour on Tuesday night in his hometown of Decorah — a milestone that capped months of travel across all 99 Iowa counties and offered a revealing portrait of both his campaign’s reach and the state’s political mood.
Sand, the Democratic candidate for governor and current state auditor, said the tour reinforced what he’s been hearing from Iowans everywhere: frustration with the state’s direction and growing concern over Iowa’s economic slide and public health challenges.
“People are very fed up,” Sand said in an interview ahead of his final stop. “They feel that our economy isn’t doing well, and most folks know we’re number one in cancer growth. They’re sick of how things are going, and they’re ready for something different.”
At the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds on Tuesday night, Sand spoke over a hoarse voice to a standing-room-only crowd of at least 250, saying the turnout reflected Iowans’ appetite for practical solutions over partisan fights.
He emphasized the need for political reform and accountability. He highlighted Iowa's history of independent redistricting and merit-based judicial selection as models for change. Sand criticized the current political system for prioritizing re-election over problem-solving and called for bipartisan cooperation. He proposed reforms to Iowa’s school choice program, including tuition restrictions and improved oversight, and stressed the importance of water quality and early education.
Throughout the tour — which also included stops Tuesday in Howard, Chickasaw, Bremer and Allamakee counties — Sand emphasized that he’s running to “build things, not just fight about them,” citing his experience launching the state’s Public Innovations and Efficiencies (PIE) program, which helps local governments increase efficiency and save public funds through innovative ideas and best practices that has since been replicated in other states.
In a press gaggle before his final event, Sand said he’s found that approach resonates across the political spectrum. “There are some people in my party who are frustrated, who want someone that’s really focused on partisanship,” he said. “But the vast majority of people — even some of those folks — just want balance, and they want change in Iowa. They’re pretty fed up with the direction of things.”
Two Democrats — Sand and political consultant Julie Stauch — are currently running for governor. Sand, the only statewide elected Democrat in Iowa, is widely considered the favorite to earn the party’s nomination. Paul Dahl, a Webster City man who previously ran unsuccessfully for governor and Congress, announced his candidacy for governor in November 2024.
On the Republican side, state Rep. Eddie Andrews of Johnston, Williamsburg pastor Brad Sherman and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services director Adam Steen are running for the office. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Hull and state Sen. Mike Bousselot of Ankeny are currently running exploratory campaigns.
A campaign built on conversation
Sand said the tour gave him a clearer picture of Iowans’ shared priorities — and frustrations — regardless of party. From farmers and factory workers to teachers and retirees, he said, people voiced common concerns about education, water quality, and government accountability.
He often began his events by asking attendees to identify themselves as Democrats, Republicans or independents — a gesture meant to underscore his campaign’s cross-party reach. In Waverly and Decorah, several Republicans and independents raised their hands — voters Sand believes are searching for a more pragmatic kind of leadership.
“They’re not showing up to be partisan,” Sand told The Gazette. “They’re showing up because they want someone who’s focused on solving real problems, not another food fight between two private clubs.”
One of the most impactful moments of the tour, Sand said, came before the campaign officially began — meeting Nancy, a mother from Grimes whose 9-year-old son suffers from severe seizures. Nancy told Sand she struggled to get help through Iowa’s Medicaid system.
“I went home that night and cried, and I've stayed in touch with Nancy,” Sand said. “No one in Iowa wants that. People in Iowa want a family with a 9-year-old who has health issues to get the help they need, but also to be able to have access to the leaders that are supposed to be serving us.”
That story, he said, became a driving force behind his push to fix Iowa Medicaid and improve government accountability. Sand said stories like Nancy’s underscore how deeply flawed Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system has become. He said his office has documented a large increase in illegal denials of care by private managed care organizations (MCOs), and found that many hospitals and providers were forced to take out lines of credit because MCOs “refuse to pay what they owe.”
Republicans dismiss tour as political theater
As his campaign shifts into its next phase, Sand said he will continue emphasizing the need for bipartisan cooperation and a government that prioritizes “problems that impact people’s daily lives.” That includes tackling a softening Iowa economy that has showed mixed results, improving education, confronting water quality issues and rejecting what he called “divisive culture wars.”
“I want an Iowa that’s welcoming,” Sand said. “If bills are on my desk that are culture war bills, I’ll veto every single one of them. We should be focusing on jobs, health care, and education — not beating up on people because they’re different.”
Republicans, meanwhile, dismissed Sand’s tour as political theater. Iowa GOP spokesperson Jade Cichy said in a statement:
“After stops filled with rhymes, sing-alongs, and carefully staged selfies, Rob Sand has finally wrapped up his statewide vanity tour.
“And what did Iowans get? Carefully manufactured political word salads every time the questions got tough,” Cichy said. “No policy. No substance. No solutions. Just the same tired act, playing to the cameras, sending tweets, and pretending it adds up to leadership.
“If Rob Sand thinks Iowa’s future will be shaped by photo ops and folksy jingles, he’s more out of tune than we thought.”
Speaking to reporters, Sand brushed off partisan attacks from GOP officials who have labeled him “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Sand said he’s heard the opposite from other Republicans. “Some of them have said, ‘Sand’s right — I’m sick of this crap,’” he said with a grin. “So I think I’m doing pretty good.”
Education, water quality and accountability
At town halls in Waverly and Decorah, Sand was pressed on how he would tackle Iowa’s water quality problems. He criticized GOP lawmakers for shifting funding away from water quality monitoring, and said he’s committed to addressing the issue, highlighting the need for practical solutions and transparency rather than avoiding the problem.
Sand said his campaign is developing a water-quality plan that is both “impactful and achievable.” He said he’s meeting with scientists, farmers and industry groups to ground the platform in evidence and consensus, pledging to bring a prosecutor’s fact-finding approach to an issue he called personal as someone who grew up fishing and tubing on the Upper Iowa River.
On education, Sand called for increased oversight and guardrails on Iowa’s Education Savings Accounts, saying public dollars must come with public accountability. He proposed:
- Independent auditing and oversight of ESA funds spent by private schools;
- Limits on tuition hikes to prevent schools from simply raising prices by the ESA amount;
- Non-discrimination/“take all comers” rules for ESA-participating schools so “school choice doesn’t just mean schools choosing students”; and
- Better targeting of benefits so the program doesn’t function as “a subsidy for the wealthiest families.”
Sand said he supports expanding access to early childhood education and highlighted tools that can raise literacy efficiently. He pointed to classroom technology — including AI that listens to students read and then serves the next text at the right difficulty level — to keep children engaged and progressing.
Sand also said he would work to restore and stabilize funding for Area Education Agencies, calling Iowa’s AEA model “a nationally admired way to deliver services in rural communities.” He credited his mother’s career with Keystone AEA for shaping his view that AEAs keep specialized services accessible to every Iowa student, not just those in large districts.
A message that resonates beyond party lines
Sand’s call for an Iowa that is “better and truer Iowa, not just redder or bluer” has found an audience among voters disillusioned with both parties. At the Waverly event, he shared examples of Republicans and independents who have publicly praised his campaign’s tone and message.
“We have had our message echoing back to us from places where you shouldn't get an echo,” Sand said.
Among them in Waverly was Robert Wyatt, 81, of rural Shell Rock, a veteran who said he admired and supported former GOP leaders like the late Bob Dole and former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach. Wyatt said he came to hear Sand because he misses a time when “Republicans and Democrats had a common goal and differed only on means.”
“I’m much more concerned with what a politician is for than who or what he’s against,” Wyatt said, calling Sand’s message “positive” and “solution-oriented.” He said he appreciated Sand’s willingness to acknowledge Iowa’s water quality crisis and other systemic issues — even if the solutions will take time.
“You can't pass one law and cure the problem,” Wyatt said of water quality. “It's going to take a generation to deal with the problem. So it takes a thoughtful, long term approach to deal with it, but the key first of all is to recognize that the problem exists.”
Wyatt, who described himself “philosophically” as an old-school Republican, said he’s increasingly concerned about the rise of school vouchers that “take from the many to give to the few,” to state tax policies that shift the burden from income to property and sales taxes.
“Compared to what I’ve seen elsewhere,” he said, “Rob Sand looks pretty good.”
What’s next
As he transitions into the next phase of his campaign, Sand is calling on supporters to help expand that message through volunteer organizing, grassroots donations and social media outreach.
He acknowledged that if elected, he’ll likely face a Republican-controlled Legislature — and said that’s fine by him. “Every law and every budget will have to have bipartisan support,” he said. “We make better decisions when we have to share power.”
For Sand, ending the tour in Decorah — where he was born and raised — carried personal meaning. He said the values that shaped him in Decorah — community, fairness and service — remain the foundation of his campaign.
“When I first ran for auditor, I said we need to do a better job of loving our neighbors,” Sand said. “That feels even more true now. Iowans deserve leaders who listen, who care, and who are focused on making their lives better.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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