(Radio Iowa) – Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas says she’s running state auditor in 2026. Maas, a Republican, says her experience as a county supervisor and in helping cities balance their budgets will set her up for the role of state auditor.  “I know better than most people would on where to look to find the issues and where to find the fraud, and just even the gray area…It’s not always black and white,” she said. “There are things that are not explicitly illegal, but I question are they the best use of taxpayer dollars.” Maas plans to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties over the next four months and learn from local government officials how to make the auditing process more efficient.

Abigail Maas

“I think what we need to do is also reach out and mend the bond between the state and local governments,” Maas says. “We have our county auditors. We have city clerks…They’re really the boots on the ground. They know what’s going on. They know where to look — where, you know, where we’re missing things.” Maas is a farmer who owns a flooring company in South Amana. She says because of that experience and her role as a county auditor, she’s learned how to cut costs and make local government budgets work without raising taxes. Maas says if elected state auditor, she hopes to implement statewide software for local governments to input their budgets line-by-line.

Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer — a Republican from Le Claire — announced this spring that she’s running for state auditor.