The 2026 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Iowa. Democratic state auditor Rob Sand won the election against Republican businessman Zach Lahn by a comfortable 11-point margin. Republican incumbent Kim Reynolds did not seek a third full term.
Primary elections were held on June 2, 2026. In the Republican primary, Representative Randy Feenstra emerged as the frontrunner after being endorsed by President Donald Trump, but Lahn won the nomination in an upset with 37.65% of the vote. Sand was the only candidate to qualify for the ballot in the Democratic primary.
Leading up to the election, Rob Sand was the only Democrat holding statewide elected office in Iowa, as the state has trended reliably red in recent years. With the incumbent's retirement and Sand's entry, pollsters considered the governor's mansion a potential offensive opportunity for Democrats. Aided by both his personal popularity as well as a national environment that was expected to favor his party, Sand led his opponent in the vast majority of pre-election polling, oftentimes outside the margin of error. Come election night, Rob Sand won, defeating Zach Lahn by a comfortable 11% margin. This was the first open gubernatorial election in Iowa since 2006 and the first to be held at the same time as the open Senate election since 1968. This was the first time since 2006 that Democrats won the governorship in Iowa. Sand won by the largest margin for a Iowa gubernatorial Democratic candidate since 1964.
Background
Iowa is considered to be a moderate-to-strong red state, with both chambers of its state legislature controlled by the Republican Party. However, in special elections in 2025, Iowa Republicans lost their supermajority in the Iowa Senate. Republicans still maintain their supermajority in the Iowa House of Representatives that they won in 2024. The last time the Democratic Party won a gubernatorial election in Iowa was in 2006. All four members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa have been Republicans since 2022 and Republicans have won all U.S. Senate elections in Iowa since 2010, making Iowa's congressional delegation entirely Republican. In Presidential Elections, Iowa has voted for Republican President Donald Trump in his nationwide-win in 2016, loss in 2020, and win again in 2024, with Trump's and the Republican Party's vote-share increasing in Iowa in every subsequent election. Sand, a Democrat, won statewide election in 2022 as state auditor by just 2,893 votes.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Zach Lahn
- Running mate: Derek Wulf, state representative from the 76th district (2023–present)
Eliminated in primary
- Eddie Andrews, state representative from the 43rd district (2021–present)
- Randy Feenstra, U.S. representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district (2021–present)
- Brad Sherman, former state representative from the 91st district (2023–2025)
- Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (2021–2025)
Declined
- Brenna Bird, attorney general of Iowa (2023–present) (ran for re-election)
- Mike Bousselot, state senator from the 21st district (2023–present) (ran for re-election; later withdrew)
- Chris Cournoyer, lieutenant governor of Iowa (2024–present) (ran for state auditor; endorsed Feenstra)
- Pat Grassley, speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives (2020–present) from the 57th district (2007–present) and grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (ran for re-election)
- Ashley Hinson, U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district (2021–present) (ran for U.S. Senate)
- Bobby Kaufmann, state representative from the 82nd district (2013–present) (ran for re-election)
- Kari Lake, senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (2025–present) and nominee for governor of Arizona in 2022 and U.S. senator in 2024
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, U.S. representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district (2021–present) (ran for re-election; endorsed Feenstra)
- Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture (2018–present) (ran for re-election; endorsed Feenstra)
- Zach Nunn, U.S. representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district (2023–present) (ran for re-election)
- Kim Reynolds, incumbent governor (2017–present) (declined to endorse)
- Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006, and candidate for governor in 2002, 2006, and 2010 (endorsed Steen)
Endorsements
Randy Feenstra
- Terry Branstad, former ambassador to China (2017–2020) and former governor of Iowa (1983–1999, 2011–2017) (previously endorsed Bousselot)
- Donald Trump, president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)
- Joni Ernst, Iowa (2015–present)
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, IA-1 (2021–present)
- Chris Cournoyer, lieutenant governor of Iowa (2024–present)
- Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture (2018–present)
- Matt Schultz, former Iowa secretary of state (2011–2015)
- Roby Smith, state treasurer of Iowa (2023–present)
- Craig Johnson, HD-67 (2023–present)
- Carrie Koelker, SD-33 (2019–present)
- Ken Rozenboom, president pro tempore of the Iowa Senate (2025–present) from SD-19 (2013–present)
- Brent Siegrist, HD-19 (2021–present), former HD-84 (1985–2003)
- John Wills, speaker pro tempore of the Iowa House of Representatives (2020–present) from HD-10 (2015–present)
- 18 other state legislators
Brad Sherman
- Sam Clovis, former senior White House advisor to the Department of Agriculture (2017–2018)
- Kevin Alons, SD-07 (2023–present)
- Doug Campbell, SD-30 (2025–present)
- Jim Carlin, former SD-03 (2017–2023)
- Mark Cisneros, HD-96 (2021–present)
- Dennis Guth, SD-28 (2013–present)
- Judd Lawler, HD-91 (2025–present)
- Anne Osmundson, former HD-64 (2019–2025)
- Sandy Salmon, SD-29 (2023–present)
- Luana Stoltenberg, former HD-81 (2023–2025)
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Rob Sand, Iowa auditor of state (2019–present)
- Running mate: Dave Muhlbauer, Crawford County supervisor (2017–2021, 2023–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022
Disqualified
- Julie Stauch, business development professional and former Iowa political director for the Pete Buttigieg 2020 presidential campaign
Libertarian primary
Candidates
On June 2, the Gluba campaign submitted over 8,000 signatures to the Iowa Secretary of State, satisfying the 3,500 signature requirement to qualify for the ballot. However, he later got disqualified from the ballot as he did not follow the proper legal procedures when trying to substitute his running mate.
Disqualified
- Nicholas Gluba, Lone Tree city councilor and nominee for Iowa's 1st congressional district in 2024
Independents
Candidates
Did not qualify
- Sondra Wilson, pre-law student (previously ran as a Democrat)
General election
Campaign
Though originally from Iowa, Zach Lahn faced scrutiny following reporting by The Des Moines Register that he lived in Kansas until 2023, when he allegedly returned to Iowa. Lahn registered to vote in Iowa on October 17, 2024, ahead of the 2024 election. The newspaper later reported that flight records indicated Lahn spent 75 nights in Wichita, Kansas, between October 2025 and spring 2026, frequently traveling there by private plane. Lahn said the trips were related to custody arrangements involving his children, who live in Kansas.
Rob Sand criticized Lahn as a "part-time Iowan" and a carpetbagger, arguing that his frequent travel to Kansas conflicted with his "Iowa First" campaign message. Sand, meanwhile, has faced criticism from Governor Kim Reynolds and other state Republicans, who have accused him of using high-profile audits and allegations of fraud to bolster his political profile.
In early September, The Des Moines Register reported that the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office was investigating Lahn's running mate, Wulf, for theft and fraud in relation to accusations that Wulf had misled lenders and business associates about his finances.
Post-primary endorsements
Zach Lahn (R)
- Terry Branstad, former ambassador to China (2017–2020) and former governor of Iowa (1983–1999, 2011–2017)
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services (2025–present) (Independent)
- Donald Trump, president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)
- JD Vance, vice president of the United States (2025–present)
- Chuck Grassley, president pro tempore (2019–2021, 2025–present) from Iowa (1981–present)
- Rand Paul, Kentucky (2011–present)
- Randy Feenstra, IA-4 (2021–present) and primary gubernatorial candidate
- Ashley Hinson, IA-2 (2021–present)
- Mike Johnson, speaker of the House (2023–present) from LA-4 (2017–present)
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, IA-1 (2021–present)
- Ron Paul, former TX-14 (1976–2013)
- Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture (2018–present)
- Paul Pate, Iowa secretary of state (1995–1999, 2015–present)
- Kim Reynolds, governor of Iowa (2017–present)
- Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (2021–2025) and primary gubernatorial candidate
- Bill Gustoff, HD-40 (2023–present)
- Bobby Kaufmann, majority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives (2025–present) from HD-82 (2013–present)
- Jeff Kaufmann, former HD-79 (2005–2013) and chair of the Iowa GOP (2014–present)
- Joe Mitchell, former HD-84 (2019–2023)
- Derek Wulf, HD-76 (2023–present) (candidate's running mate)
- Steve Deace, conservative talk show host
- James Fishback, investor and political candidate
- Nick Fuentes, far-right political activist
- Benny Johnson, conservative commentator
- Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA
- Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader
- American Conservation Coalition
- MAHA PAC
- NRA Political Victory Fund
- Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
- The Family Leader
Rob Sand (D)
- Pete Buttigieg, former secretary of transportation (2021–2025)
- Tom Vilsack, former secretary of agriculture (2009–2017, 2021–2025) and former governor of Iowa (1999–2007)
- Andy Kim, New Jersey (2024–present)
- Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky (2019–present)
- Patty Judge, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2007–2011)
- Laura Kelly, governor of Kansas (2019–present)
- Tom Miller, former attorney general of Iowa (1979–1991, 1995–2023)
- Gavin Newsom, governor of California (2019–present)
- JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois (2019–present)
- Walt Tomenga, former HD-69 (2005–2009) (Republican)
- Dave Muhlbauer, Crawford County supervisor (2017–2021, 2023–present) (candidate's running mate)
- Matt Walsh, former mayor of Council Bluffs (2014–2025) (Republican)
- Christie Vilsack, former first lady of Iowa (1999–2007)
- The Des Moines Register
- The Gazette
Declined to endorse
Polling
Aggregate polls
Results
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Black Hawk (largest municipality: Waterloo)
- Boone (largest municipality: Boone)
- Bremer (largest municipality: Waverly)
- Buchanan (largest municipality: Independence)
- Cedar (largest municipality: Tipton)
- Cerro Gordo (largest municipality: Mason City)
- Clinton (largest municipality: Clinton)
- Dallas (largest municipality: Waukee)
- Des Moines (largest municipality: Burlington)
- Dubuque (largest municipality: Dubuque)
- Jasper (largest municipality: Newton)
- Jefferson (largest municipality: Fairfield)
- Lee (largest municipality: Fort Madison)
- Marshall (largest municipality: Marshalltown)
- Muscatine (largest municipality: Muscatine)
- Poweshiek (largest municipality: Grinnell)
- Scott (largest municipality: Davenport)
- Tama (largest municipality: Tama)
- Warren (largest municipality: Indianola)
- Winneshiek (largest municipality: Decorah)
- Woodbury (largest municipality: Sioux City)