Rob Sand will become the first Democrat to lead Iowa in 16 years after defeating Republican Zach Lahn in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election, according to an Associated Press race call.
Sand will replace Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who announced last year that she would not seek a third term.
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Sand is the state auditor and, heading into the election, was Iowa’s only Democrat holding statewide elected office. The 44-year-old defeated Lahn, who secured the Republican nomination after a closely contested primary.
Polling showed a tight race between Sand and Lahn, with Sand leading in many surveys.
Questions over Lahn’s residency became an issue in the campaign. Sand accused Lahn of being a “part-time” Iowa resident. The Des Moines Register reported that Lahn had used a private jet to travel between Iowa and Kansas dozens of times. Lahn said the trips were related to living arrangements for his children.
Iowa Republicans, meanwhile, accused Sand’s office of failing to provide oversight of more than $25 million in judicial branch funds that were misallocated. Sand said the misallocation would not have been detected by an audit.
Before becoming state auditor in 2018, Sand served as an assistant attorney general. He helped prosecute the Hot Lotto fraud case, described as the largest lottery-rigging scheme uncovered in U.S. history.
Sand later wrote “The Winning Ticket: Uncovering America’s Biggest Lottery Scam” about the case and the prosecution of its ringleader, Eddie Tipton.
