(Radio Iowa) – Republican Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer has kicked off her campaign for state auditor.

Cournoyer has a computer science degree and she’s been a web developer. She says artificial intelligence can be deployed to make the state auditor’s office more efficient.

Cournoyer’s first campaign for public office was in 2012, for a seat on the Pleasant Valley School Board. Cournoyer served nearly six years in the Iowa Senate before Governor Kim Reynolds appointed her lieutenant governor in December. Less than a month ago, Cournoyer was planning to be the governor’s 2026 runningmate, but that all changed when Reynolds announced she won’t run for re-election.

Governor Reynolds has endorsed Cournoyer’s bid for state auditor, calling her a true fiscal conservative. Over the past two years, Cournoyer led Senate debate of the governor’s bills that reduced the number of state government agencies and boards and commissions.

Democrat Rob Sand, the current state auditor, is expected to run for governor in 2026.