Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand held his first rally of the general election in Des Moines Sunday evening with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association.
The June 2 primary election officially made Sand the Iowa Democratic Party’s nominee for governor. He is facing Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the general election, which election analysts expect to be one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country.
Beshear was elected governor in a state that voted for President Donald Trump by about 30 percentage points.
“So I am living, breathing proof the Democrats can win anywhere, and should be fighting everywhere,” he said.
Beshear said Sand will win the governor’s race, and Iowans will elect Democratic members of Congress and a Democratic attorney general. He said Democrats are good at talking about policy, but they need to talk more about their “why.” Beshear said his “why” is his family and his faith.
“When we explain our why, we create the grace and the space to show people that this is a big enough party to disagree on this or that, as long as we are all committed to bettering our American families, that we can work together, that this country doesn’t have to be divided,” he said.
Beshear said it’s important to have a governor who can unite Iowa, and he said he’s “all in” for getting Sand elected.
Sand, who is serving his second term as state auditor, said Iowans are ready for change after a decade of full Republican control of the Iowa Legislature and governor’s office.
He continued to call for changes to the two-party political system, which he said isn’t working for Iowans. Sand said candidates and consultants know solving problems is hard, but getting elected can be easy if you lie about and demonize your opponent.
“This is part of why the system of the lesser of two evils must end,” he said. “Giving us only two options on the ballot is more about controlling us than it is about hearing us. We know we can do better in Iowa because we have a tradition of doing better in Iowa.”
Jade Cichy, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Iowa, said Sand’s campaign is closely aligned with the Democratic Party establishment he claims to transcend.
“Rob Sand loves to talk about rising above the ‘two-party’ system – right up until it’s time to campaign, cash checks, and share the stage with Democrat Party insiders,” she said. “His ‘independent’ brand is starting to sound less like a political identity and more like a deceptive marketing slogan.”
Sand was asked to respond.
“News flash: Democrats support a Democrat,” he said. Sand said he also has support from independent and Republican voters who are also sick of one-party control of the state.
Sand also went after his Republican opponent, Zach Lahn, who has sought to position himself as a political outsider “fighting the uniparty.”
He said Lahn spent years working as a political operative and would continue the single-party control of state government. And, Sand said, Lahn lives in Kansas.
The Des Moines Register reported Lahn has a second home in Kansas and frequently flies his own plane there. Lahn told the Register he and his wife fly to Kansas to spend time with children they have from previous marriages. He also said if he’s elected governor, he would “be in Iowa as much as humanly possible.”
“What he is saying when he says that he will change his living situation is that he does not presently live in Iowa enough to do the job of governor, in which case I would like to quote to him one of his own ads: ‘Iowa jobs are for Iowans.’ And that includes governor,” Sand said.
Lahn has said Sand can’t fight the establishment because he has worked in state government for years and received millions of dollars of campaign contributions from his wife and in-laws. Lahn has loaned his own campaign at least $2.5 million.
“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lahn said in his victory speech after winning the Republican nomination last week. “He’s a liberal career politician, pretending to be someone he’s not.”
Sand’s campaign staff said about 500 people attended the rally Sunday evening. He is scheduled to start his annual 100-town hall tour across the state on June 17 in Decorah.
