As state auditor, Rob Sand traveled across Iowa this year to hold 100 town hall events. He often ended his speech with a story about Jesus.
Speaking to voters in Boone in October, he said longtime, one-party control of state government has led to corruption, and that makes him angry.
“It’s OK for me to be angry about this, because Jesus got angry one time, too,” Sand said.
Sand referred to a Bible passage describing what Jesus did when he saw money changers in the temple in Jerusalem.
“And he saw them abusing that position to enrich themselves instead of serving ordinary people, and he got angry … He flipped their tables over and he sent them packing,” Sand said. “I think we’re ready to flip some tables in Des Moines. I’m ready to flip some tables. I want your help.”
Sand has also connected his Lutheran faith to his decision to register as a Democrat.
“My faith teaches me to be for the little guy,” he said. “And I think the Democratic Party at its best is the party for the little guy.”
As he campaigns for governor, Sand has tried to connect with Iowa voters through his Christian faith. He weaves religious references into his stump speech as he explains his positions and values, which has drawn a strong reaction from some Republicans.
Sand said he talks about his faith on the campaign trail because it’s “a tremendous motivator” in his life. He also said he believes in the separation of church and state.
“But I am not the state. I am a person,” Sand said. “And I want people to know who I am, and that requires a degree of openness. And so I share what motivates me and what I think about when I’m trying to make decisions, because I think that helps people understand where I’m coming from.”
That approach has resonated with some voters, like Joanne Myers of Boone. She recently became a U.S. citizen and attended Sand’s town hall as she prepares to vote for governor for the first time next year. Myers said it’s refreshing to hear Sand talk about his faith.
“In the world that we live in, that spark of hope and the desire to reach out to people through faith, I think, is a really good idea,” she said. “The lessons there aren’t fire and brimstone that he’s bringing. It’s more the, 'Let’s talk about faith and love and hope,' which is really nice to hear.”
Sand is not the only Democratic candidate in Iowa who talks about religion while campaigning. But some prominent Republicans have specifically criticized Sand’s use of Bible verses, such as Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann.
Kaufmann spoke at the fall banquet of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative Christian political group. He said Sand is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” who will “govern from the extreme left.”
“Rob Sand is cherry-picking Bible verses to open up his left-wing meetings,” Kaufmann said. “And we all know in here, you gotta do more than just cherry-pick verses. You need to absolutely lead by the content of those verses. This kid is bad news, people.”
Steve Deace, a conservative talk show host in Iowa, has also commented on Sand’s use of faith on the campaign trail.
“One of the things that the Democrat nominee loves to do, for example, is to take the word of God completely out of context,” he said. “Instead of running from religion, he’s actually trying to co-opt it ... Let’s see how it works out.”
Sand is not officially the Democratic nominee for governor, but he's expected to easily win the June primary election.
Kedron Bardwell, a political science professor at Simpson College, said there is a message within the way conservatives react to Sand.
“There’s kind of a subtext underneath that that says, 'Well, if you’re not politically conservative, are you really a Christian?'” said Bardwell, who teaches classes on religion and politics. “Because if those things get so intertwined and people start to doubt if you don’t vote the way they think you should or act the way they think you should on certain issues, you’re called into question.”
Bardwell said Iowa is becoming more secular, along with the rest of the country. Iowa ranks in the bottom half of states in measures like how often Iowans pray and attend religious services. And Bardwell said people who are religious, including clergy, are becoming more politically polarized — they’re moving further to the right or left.
Still, he said it’s smart politics for candidates like Sand to talk about their Christian faith in Iowa if they’re targeting swing voters.
“To the extent that you’re able to show that you’re a biblically literate Christian, that can only help draw some mainline [Protestant] and some Catholic, but maybe even a few evangelical swing voters over to your side,” Bardwell said.
When asked how he would respond to people who question his faith because he’s a Democrat, Sand said his faith would teach him to talk to those people rather than judge them.
“I think that’s a really important central piece of the faith, actually, is that it’s for everyone and that everyone should be treated as a child of God,” he said. “I think that’s all I really have to say about that.”
Sand's faith will continue to be part of how he tries to connect with voters as elections approach in 2026.
