(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat in statewide elected office, is running for governor in 2026. Sand, an attorney and former prosecutor in the Iowa attorney general’s office, has been state auditor since 2019. During an interview with Radio Iowa, Sand said it’s time for new leadership in the governor’s office. “Refocusing on public service, not just politics; all of state government focused on serving all Iowans, not just a select few.” Sand said. “…This state really needs a new direction. I think most Iowans agree with that.” Sand calls the state budget Republicans have developed a ticking fiscal time bomb because it relies on withdrawals from the state’s reserves.

“We are on track to run record structural deficits as far as the eye can see,” Sand said. “That surplus will only last so long. The fundamental problem in this state is that our leadership over the last 10 years has continued to increase spending while drastically cutting revenue.” Republican Terry Branstad returned to the governor’s office in 2011 and Kim Reynolds took over as governor in mid-2017. She’s signed five tax cuts into law over the last seven years. Sand says the state’s current flat income tax is of tremendous benefit to the wealthiest people in Iowa. “We really haven’t done a lot for the people that are struggling, which is a good chunk of Iowans,” Sand said. “…If we are looking at structural deficits as far as the eye can see the highest earners in this state, I think some of them would feel some sense of patriotic willingness to say, ‘O.K., look, we got a tax cut. That was nice for a few years, but the budget’s upside down and we’ve got to see where we can go.” Sand also says it’s time to tax marijuana at the same rate alcohol is taxed.

State Auditor Rob Sand

“We are losing tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue every year because Iowans are leaving the state and bringing that tax revenue somewhere else,” Sand said. Illinois collected nearly half a million dollars in taxes from marijuana sales last year. Missouri took in 241 million dollars in tax revenue during the first year marijuana was legalized there. In a clear signal Sand was considering a run for governor, he raised over eight-and-a-half MILLION dollars in the last calendar year. Republicans say the paperwork shows Sand’s family is trying to buy his political future. His wife and in-laws accounted for seven million dollars of his 2024 fundraiser. Sand says he has more small dollar donations than Governor Reynolds has ever had.  “Every one of my campaigns has had substantial financial support from my in-laws, which I appreciate. They know me really well and they trust me to do the right thing,” Sand said. “I’ve also in every one of those campaigns have had record breaking grassroots support.”

Sand’s in-laws donated to Governor Reynolds in the past. Sand says the governor’s decision not to seek reelection was not a factor in his decision to run for the office in 2026. “I think we need to recenter ourselves not on personalities or on colors. Red versus Blue, right? I don’t want an Iowa that is bluer or redder,” Sand said. “I want Iowa that is truer and better and I think most Iowans do, too.” Sand, who is 42, grew up in Decorah and earned a degree in political science from Brown University. He got his law degree from the University of Iowa. As an assistant Iowa attorney general, he won a conviction in the case against a man who rigged Hot Lotto Jackpots in five states.