Democrat Rob Sand projected to win Iowa governor's race, flipping the office

Democrat Rob Sand is projected to win the Iowa governor's race, NBC News reports, giving his party control of the governor's office for the first time in 20 years.

Sand, the state auditor, ran as a moderate and defeated Republican businessman Zach Lahn to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The victory is notable in a state Donald Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.

Sand, 44, is currently the only Democrat holding statewide elected office in Iowa and has long been regarded as a rising star in a party trying to win back ground it lost in rural states during the Trump era.

Sand cruised to the Democratic nomination this year. Lahn, 40, reached the general election by pulling off an upset against Rep. Randy Feenstra in the Republican primary.

In an expensive general election campaign, Sand and his allies repeatedly portrayed Lahn as a carpetbagger and a "part-time Iowan," noting that he had lived and voted in Kansas until recently and traveled there often during the campaign. Asked about the frequent trips during a debate, Lahn said, "I have a blended family, and my kids split time."

Lahn, for his part, called Sand "just like all the other Democrats" in television ads and described him as a "liberal billionaire" during a debate, a reference to Sand's wife, who is CEO of her family's company. Lahn also sought to tie Sand to out-of-state Democrats' positions on immigration, energy and taxes, and accused his wife's company of polluting Iowa's waterways, a claim Sand rebutted.

Pollution from agribusiness and Iowa's rising cancer rates emerged as central themes in both campaigns. "I think there's a lot of places of bipartisan agreement on this issue. It's a really important one for a lot of people in Iowa," Sand told NBC News in October.

Lahn addressed the issue at a debate as well, telling viewers, "For a very long time, we have seen the nitrate load in our water increase year after year," and pledging to work toward "real solutions" if elected.

Lahn won the GOP primary with backing from members of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement associated with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump had endorsed Feenstra in the primary but backed Lahn afterward, appearing at rallies in Iowa ahead of Election Day.

As in other governor's races around the country, the candidates frequently clashed over the economy and affordability. Sand pledged to raise the minimum wage and enact policies to make healthcare and prescription drugs more affordable, while Lahn promised to support Iowa's small businesses and cut taxes.