Iowa voters head to the polls Tuesday to pick their next governor, choosing between Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn in an open race that could decide whether conservatives keep their hold on state government.
The contest fills the seat being vacated by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who declined to run again. It comes in a midterm year when Republicans face national headwinds, and according to U.S. News & World Report, the race has revived Iowa's status as battleground territory even though registered Democrats are outnumbered by Republicans in the state.
Two outsiders, two very different pitches
Both men ran against the status quo in Des Moines, criticizing a deepening budget deficit, rising costs of living, shrinking health care access, high cancer rates and water pollution. But their solutions could hardly be further apart.
Sand, 44, built his campaign on his record as state auditor and his anti-corruption agenda, paired with his small-town northeast Iowa roots. He won his last election by fewer than 3,000 votes, but he has run ahead of other Democrats in past races, especially in rural counties.
Lahn, 40, is a first-time candidate who stunned the Republican establishment in June by beating U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra in the primary, even though Feenstra had President Donald Trump's endorsement. Lahn won the five-way primary with only about a third of Republican voters behind him.
Who is Zach Lahn?
Lahn was little known in Iowa politics when he launched his campaign last November. He previously worked on launching innovative schools, including one in Wichita, Kansas, funded by Chase Koch, son of Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch. He also worked in Montana for the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity.
In Iowa, Lahn owns an investment company and has revived an eastern Iowa farm that had been in his family for a century.
He generated early buzz from grassroots activists and supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s