Governor-elect Rob Sand has announced his first hiring decision in state government. Abe Rakov (RAY-kohv) will be Sand’s chief of staff.
Rakov co-founded Let America Vote, a national political action committee, right after managing a 2016 U-S Senate campaign. Democrat Jason Kander (KAN-der) narrowly lost that race, after serving a term as Missouri’s Secretary of State. Sand says Rakov was Kander’s chief of staff.
There will be divided government in Iowa next year, too, with Sand as the first Democrat elected governor in two decades and a Republican-led legislature. Sand says he’s kept in touch with Rakov over the past decade — and Rakov was in Iowa on Election Day as a volunteer on Sand’s campaign.
Rakov posted a brief statement on social media, saying he’s humbled and honored by the opportunity to serve as Sand’s chief of staff. Rakov has at a firm based in Texas since 2018 and served as a political consultant to Beto O’Rourke’s 2020 presidential campaign and a group called “Run for Something” that encourages young Democrats to run for office.
