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Rob Sand
2019 - Present
2027
6
Rob Sand (Democratic Party) is the Iowa Auditor of State. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Sand (Democratic Party) is running for election for Governor of Iowa. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Sand was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa. In 2005, Sand received a bachelor's degree in political science from Brown University, where he was named a Truman Scholar. Sand received a law degree from the University of Iowa Law School in 2010.[1][2][3] Sand's career experiences includes working as a public corruption prosecutor for the Attorney General of Iowa. In 2006, Sand also worked for Ed Fallon’s campaign for Governor of Iowa and managed Denise O’Brien’s general election campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.[4] During one college semester, he worked in Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin's (D) Washington, D.C., office.[5][6]
Elections
2026
See also: Iowa gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Governor of Iowa
The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Iowa on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Paul Dahl (D) | ||
 | Rob Sand (D) | |
| Julie Stauch (D) | ||
 | Eddie Andrews (R) | |
 | Randy Feenstra (R) | |
 | Brad Sherman (R) | |
| Adam Steen (R) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: Iowa Auditor election, 2022
General election
General election for Iowa Auditor of State
Incumbent Rob Sand defeated Todd Halbur in the general election for Iowa Auditor of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Sand (D) | 50.1 | 600,719 |
 | Todd Halbur (R) | 49.8 | 597,826 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 826 | ||
| Total votes: 1,199,371 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa Auditor of State
Incumbent Rob Sand advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa Auditor of State on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Sand | 99.8 | 145,172 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 314 | ||
| Total votes: 145,486 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa Auditor of State
Todd Halbur defeated Mary Ann Hanusa in the Republican primary for Iowa Auditor of State on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Todd Halbur | 51.1 | 83,966 |
 | Mary Ann Hanusa | 48.7 | 80,023 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 459 | ||
| Total votes: 164,448 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
- See also: Iowa Auditor election, 2018
General election
General election for Iowa Auditor of State
Rob Sand defeated incumbent Mary Mosiman and Fred Perryman in the general election for Iowa Auditor of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Sand (D) | 51.0 | 660,169 |
 | Mary Mosiman (R) | 46.4 | 601,320 | |
 | Fred Perryman (L) | 2.6 | 33,421 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 458 | ||
| Total votes: 1,295,368 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa Auditor of State
Rob Sand advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa Auditor of State on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Sand | 100.0 | 147,840 |
| Total votes: 147,840 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa Auditor of State
Incumbent Mary Mosiman advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa Auditor of State on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mary Mosiman | 100.0 | 85,207 |
| Total votes: 85,207 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2022
Rob Sand did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rob Sand completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sand's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
My priority is to "Wake Up the Watchdog." All of my priorities fit into that rubric of work that should be getting done, but is not: 1. Investigate the privatization of Medicaid in Iowa. Our State Auditor has had plenty of time, and has done nothing to uncover the truth. 2. Focus on efficiency. This office should make efficiency recommendations to local, county, and state government. But even my opponent admits they've done that only "several" times in over 1,000 audits issued. That's not enough. 3. Tell the truth about the budget. We've burned through $1 billion in savings in 5 years under this State Auditor and our "watchdog" hasn't barked. We need someone who will put the public ahead of their party and be honest with taxpayers.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I was Iowa's chief public corruption and major financial crimes prosecutor over the last decade. The State Auditor's Office is responsible for all of Iowa's public corruption investigations. I know that work needs a law enforcement perspective because I've read almost all of it. I prosecuted every case related to the Iowa Film Office tax credit scandal. I led the investigation that uncovered the largest lottery rigging scandal in American history. I am not scared to investigate powerful insiders, and I know a law enforcement background is needed in this office.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
I am running for Auditor because we need new leadership in this office. Not only will my law enforcement background improve the investigative division's work, but multiple experts have confirmed that the office can complete all necessary audits with the 30+ CPAs that would work underneath me in the audit division. I also want to see the office start doing efficiency promotion. Finally, my opponent is not up to the investigative task of the office. Nearly $400,000 was misspent at the ICN by its Executive Director while she sat on the Oversight Board for the ICN. She missed more meetings than anyone else on the board, and only asked 3 questions in 4 years. This was even after a major news story questioning the Executive Director's honesty. We need someone more willing to dig in and make insiders uncomfortable in order to serve taxpayers.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
When I was 14, I had a job catching chickens. I believe I did it for about a year.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Governor of Iowa |
Officeholder Iowa Auditor of State |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ ‘‘Iowa Auditor of State’’, “About Us,” accessed January 29, 2023
- ↑ ‘‘Iowa Starting Line’’, “Rising Star Profile: Rob Sand,” September 29, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Rob Sand," accessed February 1, 2023
- ↑ Gateway Market, "Ed Fallon Bio," accessed February 1, 2023
- ↑ ‘‘Iowa Auditor of State’’, “About Us,” accessed January 29, 2023
- ↑ ‘‘Iowa Starting Line’’, “Rising Star Profile: Rob Sand,” September 29, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Iowa Auditor of State 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
