The Iowa Governor Debate
KCRG Governor Debate
Rob Sand and Zach Lahn meet at 6:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids. Watch it here.
Watch Rob Sand and Zach Lahn answer questions from Iowa reporters.
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Before the debate
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For 2027 and beyond, our goal is to make it easier to follow what Iowa’s elected officials actually do: the bills they introduce, the votes they cast, the money behind their campaigns and the promises they keep—or don’t. That includes the Statehouse, the governor’s office and Iowa’s delegation in Washington.
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How Iowa voted, 1986–2024
Presidential and governor results for every Iowa county, 1986–2024. Compare results with 2024 and 2022 after all precincts report.
See past election resultsKTIV Governor Debate
Rob Sand and Zach Lahn debated in Sioux City on Oct. 14. Watch the full replay.
Video from KTIV News 4. Watch on YouTube → · See all debates →
★ Campaign Activity Round ★
★ Iowa County Event Map ★
Where each candidate has held a publicly reported campaign event. How this is counted →
Hover or select a county for details.
Events are included when they were publicly announced by a campaign, local organization or another public source—something an ordinary person had an opportunity to learn about. Private events are not counted. Full methodology →
★ The Polling Round ★
21 polls meet our standard. Sand leads in all 21. The average gives more weight to newer polls and likely-voter polls.
Rob Sand
51.0%
Zach Lahn
44.1%
Polls measure where voters stood when they were contacted. The full page shows the wiggle room and methods behind each result.
★ The Money Round ★
Fundraising periods begin on each candidate's campaign-announcement date (Lahn: November 6, 2025, Sand: May 12, 2025). Cash on hand and debt are each committee's most recent disclosure snapshot (filed October 30, 2026 / October 30, 2026), not a running total.
Next campaign finance report (January 19 Report, covering October 15 (or the Wednesday preceding the general election) – December 31, 2026) is due January 19, 2027 by 4:30 PM. Source: Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board.
★ Where They Stand ★
Zach Lahn
Supports eventually eliminating Iowa's personal income tax and property taxes on primary-residence single-family homes. Proposes finding savings through a publicly accessible government-spending ledger and raising revenue from data centers. In the Oct. 14 debate, he had not provided a complete funding mechanism for eliminating primary-home property taxes. He mentioned a sales-tax increase suggested by others but explicitly said it was not his proposal.
Rob Sand
Says he does not support reversing Iowa's recent income-tax cuts, while questioning whether the state can sustain its spending commitments under current revenue levels. Proposes revenue from regulated adult-use cannabis and ending data-center tax breaks, alongside mandatory participation in the Public Innovations and Efficiencies program. In the Oct. 14 debate, he acknowledged that cannabis revenue and ending data-center tax breaks alone would not close the budget gap.
Zach Lahn
Proposes letting Iowa high-school graduates who stay in or return to the state direct their income-tax savings toward a first-home down payment for a set period. His October interview did not specify the duration. Also favors incentives for training in shortage occupations and prioritizing Iowa businesses and workers in state contracts. Supports ending H-1B hiring at public universities and institutions; Sand has questioned how those jobs would be filled. In the Oct. 27 debate, he opposed raising Iowa's minimum wage, saying he favors expanding better-paying jobs through Iowa businesses.
Rob Sand
Supports raising Iowa's minimum wage to $12 an hour. Proposes expanding remote state employment throughout Iowa, removing unnecessary four-year-degree requirements for state jobs, improving broadband access and simplifying assistance for small businesses. His rural-development proposals include an Office of Rural Prosperity to coordinate state services and support new farmers. He repeated the $12 proposal in the Oct. 27 debate.
Zach Lahn
Supports education savings accounts, homeschooling and greater flexibility within public schools. Proposes innovation zones, less standardized testing, mastery-based learning, and individual or small-group help for students needing behavioral support. Also proposes revoking teaching licenses for teachers who promote their political viewpoints in class. In the Oct. 14 debate, he favored targeted investments but did not give an overall school-funding increase. In the Oct. 27 debate, he supported third-party audits of private schools receiving education-account money and opposed requiring every school to accept every applicant.
Rob Sand
Proposes a 5% increase in general state school aid in his first year, while saying he cannot promise the same increase in year two. Supports universal all-day prekindergarten and public-school meals. Proposes restoring an income limit, annual audits and tuition safeguards for private-school accounts. In the Oct. 27 debate, he said private schools accepting public money should accept applicants while they have capacity, including students with special needs.
Zach Lahn
Describes Iowa's Medicaid system as largely working, while proposing restrictions on managed-care companies owning pharmacies and providers. Supports using artificial intelligence to detect fraud but says AI should not deny claims. Also emphasizes reliable care and prompt provider payments. He has said federal changes largely addressed the concerns behind his earlier opposition to Medicaid expansion in Montana. In the Oct. 27 debate, he supported retaining private managed care with stronger oversight, prompt payment and limits on vertical integration, and supported work or volunteering requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients.
Rob Sand
Proposes beginning to reverse Medicaid privatization on his first day. Has discussed managed care administered by state employees or nonprofits rather than a full return to the former fee-for-service model; in October, he identified nonprofit managed care as the most likely direction. Also proposes prescription-drug price review, tighter pharmacy-benefit-manager oversight, broader telehealth and surprise-billing protections, medical-debt relief, and income-targeted caregiver tax credits of up to $2,000, plus $1,000 for caregivers of veterans. In the Oct. 27 debate, he called for ending the profit motive in Medicaid management and supported work by able-bodied recipients, while warning against paperwork that removes coverage from people who are working.
Zach Lahn
Agreed during a January primary debate when asked whether he would ban mRNA vaccines. In October, he said his position concerned COVID-19 shots and expressed support for promising cancer treatments; he also acknowledged possible benefits from future mRNA technology. His later explanation is narrower than his earlier statements. The sources reviewed do not provide a detailed policy defining which products would be restricted.
Rob Sand
Opposes blocking access to promising mRNA cancer treatments and has criticized Lahn's earlier support for an mRNA-vaccine ban. His debate comments address access to those treatments; they do not, by themselves, establish a detailed policy on every vaccine or vaccination requirement.
Zach Lahn
Proposes independent agricultural-product testing, more Iowa-focused university research, expanded water monitoring and funding Iowa's Water and Land Legacy program. Supports conservation incentives for saturated buffers, wetlands and cover crops, and says he favors cooperation with farmers rather than additional water-quality taxes or regulation. Has also opposed pesticide-manufacturer immunity from failure-to-warn lawsuits. He restated support for funding IWiLL and voluntary conservation incentives in the Oct. 27 debate.
Rob Sand
Proposes expanded water monitoring, online manure-management records, conservation tax credits, water-quality alerts, wetland restoration and a Cabinet-level cancer task force. Supports radon warnings and testing, more mitigation professionals, and attention to preventable cancer risks. Opposes legal immunity for chemical manufacturers. His plans also support manure digesters as a way to produce energy and manage agricultural waste. In the Oct. 27 debate, he supported funding the Iowa Water and Land Legacy (IWiLL) trust fund, expanding voluntary conservation and using a reverse auction to restore wetlands.
Zach Lahn
Supports agricultural antitrust action, farmers' right to repair, restrictions on illegal foreign farmland ownership, and higher property taxes on out-of-state investors to reduce taxes on Iowa farms. Proposes low-interest financing and mentorship for young farmers and veterans. Opposes eminent domain for private corporate gain and has set a long-term goal of sourcing 80% of public-school food from Iowa. Said in the Oct. 27 debate that he would sign a ban on using eminent domain for private carbon pipelines.
Rob Sand
Opposes eminent domain for carbon-capture pipelines. Proposes restricting hedge funds and LLCs from buying excessive amounts of Iowa land and taxing out-of-state landowners more heavily. Supports local processing, farm-to-school and other institutional food purchasing, farmer mentorship, and additional farm income from agritourism, renewable energy and agricultural-waste products. Said in the Oct. 27 debate that he would sign a ban on using eminent domain for private carbon pipelines.
Zach Lahn
Proposes banning Wall Street hedge funds from buying Iowa single-family homes and raising taxes on out-of-state institutional investors. His first-home proposal would direct income-tax savings toward down payments for eligible Iowa graduates who stay in or return to the state. The reviewed interview did not specify the benefit period or full eligibility rules. He repeated both proposals in the Oct. 27 debate.
Rob Sand
Proposes interest-free first-time-homebuyer assistance, simpler permitting and inspections, and easier construction of duplexes, fourplexes and accessory dwelling units. Supports prohibiting landlords from using algorithms to coordinate rent increases. His proposals emphasize increasing housing supply while reducing financing and administrative costs.
Zach Lahn
Supports a temporary data-center moratorium while baseline rules are established, with local communities retaining a role in siting. Opposes incentives and says operators should cover their costs and meet environmental protections. His current platform also calls for higher data-center taxes to reduce Iowans' property taxes.
Rob Sand
Proposes ending data-center tax breaks, requiring companies to cover infrastructure and utility costs, prohibiting secrecy agreements, and disclosing energy use, water use and jobs. Supports local approval, public hearings, setbacks and Iowa union construction labor. His utility proposals include fee caps, integrated resource planning, distributed generation, efficiency investment and affordable solar options.
Zach Lahn
Supports legal protection from conception. In his April Iowa PBS interview, described Iowa's existing abortion restriction as good and said he would likely support further restrictions, depending on the legislation. Also supported IVF regulations to prevent embryo destruction. Those statements do not provide a complete legislative proposal or specify all exceptions and enforcement provisions.
Rob Sand
Opposes Iowa's six-week abortion ban and says he would use his veto to prevent additional restrictions and protect access to contraception, IVF and surrogacy. Acknowledges that a governor cannot repeal the existing abortion law without the Legislature. His statements establish opposition to the ban, even though his website does not publish a comprehensive replacement abortion statute. In the Oct. 27 debate, he said he would veto abortion restrictions going beyond the current six-week law.
Zach Lahn
Supports ending state benefits for undocumented immigrants and protecting Second Amendment rights. Has also advocated banning gender-transition surgeries. The reviewed statements do not supply a detailed bill defining the age range or implementation of that proposed ban. In the Oct. 27 debate, he opposed new gun restrictions.
Rob Sand
Says he would veto legislation he characterizes as culture-war policy. Proposes regulated adult-use cannabis for people 21 and older. On children's online safety, supports barring social-media use below age 16, parental consent for ages 16 and 17, app-store age checks, independent algorithm audits and restrictions on infinite scrolling for minors. In the Oct. 27 debate, he supported universal background checks while defending firearm access for law-abiding people.
Zach Lahn
Supports further limits on gubernatorial emergency powers and more authority for counties and municipalities. Says Iowa should challenge federal agency regulations that he believes exceed lawful authority. Proposes a public spending ledger to identify waste and savings.
Rob Sand
Proposes a single public primary, with up to four candidates advancing to a general election using approval voting. Supports restoring auditor powers, stronger whistleblower protections, a stock-trading ban, financial disclosures and prison sentences for theft of more than $10,000 in public money. Also proposes term limits, retirement at 78 for elected officials and judges, candidate fitness and civics requirements, and annual town halls: 20 for statewide officials and five for legislators. In the Oct. 27 debate, he also called for more than two viable ballot choices, equal participation for independent voters and mandatory prison time for stealing taxpayer money.
These are summaries of stated positions, not findings that a proposal is funded, legally available to a governor acting alone, or certain to achieve its stated results. A position not found in the reviewed sources should not be interpreted as support or opposition.
Find your candidate match
Take a short quiz about your views and compare them with the candidates’ documented positions.
Fact Checks
Campaign claims checked against public records, campaign materials and published reporting.
12 claims reviewed
See the fact-check scorecard →
★ The Aircraft Record ★
Public flight data for tail number N512MM, registered to Buckeye Creek Ventures LLC of Belle Plaine. Since Zach Lahn entered the governor's race on November 6, 2025, the aircraft's recorded overnight locations have included Iowa, Kansas and other places.
201 flight(s) recorded since campaign announcement
The records track the plane—not Zach Lahn. They do not establish who was aboard, why a flight occurred or where any person spent the night.
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