Des Moines

Democrat Rob Sand defeated Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the Nov. 3 general election and will become Iowa’s first Democratic governor since Chet Culver, who left office 15 years ago.

Lahn carried Washington County by fewer than 400 votes, according to unofficial results.

Sand, Iowa’s state auditor, will succeed Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who announced in 2025 that she would not seek reelection. Reynolds won full terms in 2018 and 2022.

Sand ran unopposed in the June Democratic primary. Lahn won a five-way Republican primary that included U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Brad Sherman and Eddie Andrews.

During an August campaign stop in Washington, Sand said he expected to work with a Republican Legislature and welcomed the prospect of having to reach bipartisan agreement on bills and budgets.

“I want to get back to divided government. That’s an Iowa tradition,” he said. “That means that if I win, every bill that gets passed has to have bipartisan approval. Every budget that gets passed has to have bipartisan approval. That means that every solution and every problem that’s addressed has to be something that the vast majority of people agree is a problem, and a vast majority of people agree it will be a solution.”

Sand also said he was willing to disagree with members of his own party.

  “I’ll tell you when I registered as a Democrat, I didn’t leave my independent mind behind. I still think for myself,” he said. “I know I have said things in the course of this campaign that upset some of the people in my party. I’m not sorry. I would rather tell you what I think than try to remember what I said. It’s so much easier.”

Lahn made a campaign stop in Kalona less than a week before the election, where he spoke about making Iowa a place where families could build a future.

“My commitment is that I will not do anything that does not help promote the culture that we want to see in the state of Iowa to make Iowa the best place to raise a family, to build a farm, to start a business, and ultimately to pass something down to the next generation,” Lahn said.

In other races, Democrat Christina Bohannan defeated Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. Democrat Josh Turek defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Joni Ernst, who did not seek a third term. Democrat Nate Willems defeated Republican incumbent Brenna Bird in the race for Iowa attorney general.