Candidates
The two major-party tickets, side by side: who they are, where they have campaigned, how they are funded and what they say they would do.
Candidate activity
Where the money comes from
See what each campaign has raised and spent, where the money came from and the records behind the totals.
Campaign totals and analysis → · Browse individual contributions →
Where they stand
Compare the candidates' published plans, interviews and debate statements across 12 topics. These summaries describe what they propose and identify important limits or changes in their explanations. Open the sources for the full context.
Find your candidate match
Take a short quiz about your views and compare them with the candidates’ documented positions.
Sources reviewed Oct. 21, 2026.
Taxes and the state budget
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.
Jobs, wages and keeping young Iowans
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.
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.
Public schools and private-school accounts
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.
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 income limits, annual audits and tuition safeguards for private-school accounts, and says private schools accepting public money should accept students rather than select whom they admit.
Health care and Medicaid
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.
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.
Vaccines and mRNA treatments
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.
Cancer prevention and water quality
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.
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.
Farming, land ownership and eminent domain
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.
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.
Housing and homeownership
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.
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.
Energy, utilities and data centers
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.
Abortion, contraception and IVF
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.
Government accountability and elections
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.
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.
What the available record does — and does not — show
We check specific claims from the governor's race against public records, campaign materials and published reporting. Each ruling links to the evidence behind it.
Aircraft record tied to a Lahn-owned company
Aircraft record
Public ADS-B records show activity for tail number N512MM, registered to Buckeye Creek Ventures LLC of Belle Plaine. The records show where the plane moved. They do not establish who was aboard or why a flight occurred.
Reported events by county
See the interactive map on the homepage, or open the county table below.
County-by-county reported campaign events
| County | Lahn events | Sand events |
|---|---|---|
| Adair | 0 | 1 |
| Adams | 0 | 1 |
| Allamakee | 0 | 1 |
| Appanoose | 1 | 1 |
| Audubon | 1 | 1 |
| Benton | 3 | 1 |
| Black Hawk | 4 | 2 |
| Boone | 0 | 1 |
| Bremer | 1 | 1 |
| Buchanan | 0 | 1 |
| Buena Vista | 1 | 1 |
| Butler | 1 | 1 |
| Calhoun | 1 | 1 |
| Carroll | 2 | 1 |
| Cass | 1 | 1 |
| Cedar | 1 | 1 |
| Cerro Gordo | 3 | 1 |
| Cherokee | 2 | 1 |
| Chickasaw | 1 | 1 |
| Clarke | 0 | 1 |
| Clay | 2 | 1 |
| Clayton | 1 | 1 |
| Clinton | 1 | 1 |
| Crawford | 1 | 1 |
| Dallas | 1 | 2 |
| Davis | 0 | 1 |
| Decatur | 0 | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 |
| Des Moines | 0 | 1 |
| Dickinson | 2 | 1 |
| Dubuque | 2 | 1 |
| Emmet | 1 | 1 |
| Fayette | 1 | 1 |
| Floyd | 0 | 1 |
| Franklin | 2 | 1 |
| Fremont | 1 | 1 |
| Greene | 1 | 1 |
| Grundy | 0 | 1 |
| Guthrie | 0 | 1 |
| Hamilton | 1 | 1 |
| Hancock | 0 | 1 |
| Hardin | 0 | 1 |
| Harrison | 1 | 1 |
| Henry | 0 | 1 |
| Howard | 0 | 1 |
| Humboldt | 1 | 1 |
| Ida | 1 | 1 |
| Iowa | 0 | 1 |
| Jackson | 1 | 1 |
| Jasper | 2 | 1 |
| Jefferson | 0 | 1 |
| Johnson | 2 | 1 |
| Jones | 0 | 1 |
| Keokuk | 0 | 1 |
| Kossuth | 0 | 1 |
| Lee | 1 | 2 |
| Linn | 3 | 2 |
| Louisa | 1 | 1 |
| Lucas | 0 | 1 |
| Lyon | 2 | 1 |
| Madison | 1 | 1 |
| Mahaska | 2 | 1 |
| Marion | 0 | 1 |
| Marshall | 2 | 1 |
| Mills | 1 | 1 |
| Mitchell | 1 | 1 |
| Monona | 0 | 1 |
| Monroe | 0 | 1 |
| Montgomery | 1 | 1 |
| Muscatine | 0 | 1 |
| O'Brien | 2 | 1 |
| Osceola | 1 | 1 |
| Page | 1 | 1 |
| Palo Alto | 1 | 1 |
| Plymouth | 2 | 1 |
| Pocahontas | 0 | 1 |
| Polk | 10 | 3 |
| Pottawattamie | 4 | 1 |
| Poweshiek | 2 | 1 |
| Ringgold | 0 | 1 |
| Sac | 1 | 1 |
| Scott | 4 | 1 |
| Shelby | 1 | 1 |
| Sioux | 2 | 1 |
| Story | 1 | 2 |
| Tama | 1 | 1 |
| Taylor | 0 | 1 |
| Union | 1 | 1 |
| Van Buren | 0 | 1 |
| Wapello | 1 | 1 |
| Warren | 2 | 2 |
| Washington | 1 | 1 |
| Wayne | 0 | 1 |
| Webster | 1 | 1 |
| Winnebago | 0 | 1 |
| Winneshiek | 0 | 1 |
| Woodbury | 3 | 1 |
| Worth | 0 | 1 |
| Wright | 1 | 1 |
Immigration, social policy and online safety
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.
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.