2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Government accountability: age and term limits for state officeholders, banning elected officials from trading stocks, and nonpartisan primary elections in Iowa.
Vetoing any further restrictions on abortion access, and protecting access to contraception, IVF and surrogacy.
Focusing state government on 'the issues that matter most' to families and communities rather than partisan fights.
Bringing the auditor's approach — finding waste and misuse of public money — to the governor's office.
Positioning himself as 'not a party guy.'
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Iowa Auditor of State since January 2019; re-elected in 2022; the only Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa.
Former assistant attorney general; degrees from Brown University and the University of Iowa College of Law.
Was unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the June 2 2026 primary as the only qualified candidate.
About $7 million of his campaign account has come from his wife and in-laws.
Has publicly called for civility in the general election campaign.
Arguments in favor
His platform is structural rather than partisan — age and term limits, a stock trading ban for officeholders, and nonpartisan primaries — aimed at the way Iowa government works rather than at which party runs it.
— Rob Sand for Governor campaign
He is the one Democrat Iowans have kept electing statewide, and he has run the auditor's office as a taxpayer watchdog.
— Rob Sand for Governor campaign
He would veto further abortion restrictions and protect access to contraception, IVF and surrogacy in a state that already bans most abortions after about six weeks.
— Rob Sand for Governor campaign
Arguments against
He 'supports every extreme Democrat position, including higher taxes, allowing biological men in girl's sports, and the Green New Deal,' and 'Rob Sand and his wealthy family are trying to buy him a governorship to impose this far-left agenda.'
— Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Republican Party of Iowa
As auditor he missed what he was supposed to catch: despite years of warning signs of financial mismanagement at the Iowa City school district, he 'never publicly sounded the alarm. Instead, he presented the district with an efficiency award and dessert' — and the auditor's job now looks like a side hustle to his campaign.
— Republican Party of Iowa
His claim to be nonpartisan does not hold up against his record and his party's support.
— Zach Lahn, Republican nominee
What we couldn’t verify
His position on Iowa's income tax cuts and the roughly $1 billion budget shortfall that followed them could not be established from a source read directly.
His campaign disputes a Republican Governors Association ad about a judicial branch misallocation, saying it selectively edits coverage of an error the judiciary took responsibility for and that a judicial employee said an audit could not have detected; the underlying facts could not be independently verified here.
His detailed agriculture and water quality platform.
His full campaign finance totals were not located beyond the reported $7 million from family.
'I will take on the big ag cartels. I will break up their monopolies, and I will get Iowa farmers a fair deal.'
Addressing Iowa's rising cancer rates: independent state safety testing of products used in Iowa, redirecting medical research funding to the University of Iowa, and incentives for farmers to cut chemical use.
Regenerative farming and reducing pesticide use and chemical runoff, including water quality.
Raising property taxes on Iowa land held by non-residents so that resident property taxes can be lowered.
Opposing abortion — he describes himself as 'unapologetically pro-life at conception,' a position more restrictive than Iowa's current law.
Restoring academic achievement in schools and removing teachers he says advance personal ideology; supporting education savings accounts and extending vouchers to homeschooling.
Gun rights and religious freedom.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Farmer on a century-old family farm in eastern Iowa; owner of an investment company; former conservative political director.
Co-founded a private school in Wichita, Kansas; he was a Kansas resident and registered voter there until 2024, and has flown his own plane between Iowa and Kansas during the campaign because some of his children are based in Wichita.
Launched his campaign in November 2025 with little name recognition.
Won the June 2 2026 Republican primary with about 37.7%, beating Representative Randy Feenstra (about 36.9%) despite Feenstra's endorsements from President Trump and Senator Joni Ernst.
The first candidate ever endorsed by MAHA Action; also endorsed by Turning Point Action.
Has not previously held elected office.
Arguments in favor
'Zach Lahn made transitioning away from toxic chemicals the cornerstone of his campaign' — he is the only candidate treating Iowa's cancer rate and farm chemical use as the central issue.
— Tony Lyons, MAHA PAC
He would take on agricultural consolidation directly — 'break up their monopolies' — on behalf of independent family farms, a position neither party's establishment has taken.
— Zach Lahn for Governor campaign
He beat a sitting congressman carrying the president's endorsement from a standing start, which supporters treat as evidence his message reaches voters the party machine does not.
— Turning Point Action, as reported by Fortune
Arguments against
He is attacking public education — saying Iowa 'is spending too much money on education,' backing education savings accounts and wanting to extend private school vouchers to homeschooling — in a state whose voucher programme is already draining public schools.
— Iowa Democratic Party, with teachers and parents at a September 2026 Council Bluffs event
He 'only offers Iowans more of the same one-party rule that has left our economy struggling, public schools under attack, and with a skyrocketing cancer rate.'
— Rob Sand for Governor press secretary
His abortion position — opposition from conception with no stated exceptions — goes further than Iowa's existing six-week law, which is already among the most restrictive in the country.
— Iowa Democratic Party
What we couldn’t verify
Whether his abortion position includes exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother; no direct statement was located.
How breaking up agricultural monopolies would work in practice under state law.
How he would fund the independent state safety testing programme he has proposed.
His campaign finance totals were not located. Lahn has publicly objected to what he calls personal attacks on his residency and family.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Open seat: Republican Kim Reynolds is not seeking a third term. Roster established from Wikipedia's race page, Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Gazette, Iowa Public Radio, Fortune, CNN and Iowa Starting Line, cross-checked. In the June 2 2026 primaries, state Auditor Rob Sand was the only qualified Democrat and was unopposed; on the Republican side, businessman and farmer Zach Lahn won with about 37.7%, narrowly beating U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (about 36.9%), who had President Trump's and Senator Joni Ernst's endorsements. Iowa elects governor and lieutenant governor as a joint ticket: Sand runs with Dave Muhlbauer, Lahn with state Representative Derek Wulf. A Libertarian ticket of Nicholas Gluba and Charles Aldrich is also on the ballot; ballot access for several Iowa Libertarian candidates was challenged in June 2026, and it could not be confirmed from a source read directly whether the gubernatorial ticket survived that challenge, so Gluba is named here but not profiled. Forecasters have rated this race a toss-up.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Iowa ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.