Des Moines Register Front Page: “Rob Sand Works to Win Over Curious Republicans”

“I haven’t totally decided, but I’m leaning very hard towards voting for Rob,” [Kelly Nieuwenhuis, 67-year-old Republican] said. “And it’s just mainly because I really like his campaign slogan of not redder or bluer, but better and truer.”

DES MOINES, IA – Last week, the Des Moines Register tagged along on Rob Sand’s annual 100 Town Hall Tour through Northwest Iowa, where Rob “drew crowds that…were often twice as large as previous events.”

As the Register reports, at each town hall, Rob makes a point of reaching out to Republican attendees — whether or not they raise their hand — to pass them the microphone and give them a chance to share what’s on their mind. It’s the same approach he’s taken in every corner of Iowa: welcoming Iowans of all political stripes to ask tough questions, share their perspectives, and have an honest conversation about the state’s future.

Read more from the Des Moines Register HERE or below:

Des Moines Register: In deep-red Iowa, Rob Sand works to win over curious Republicans

About 40 minutes into Rob Sand’s O’Brien County town hall, Sutherland resident Chuck Virgil takes the microphone.
As he reaches the end of his comments, [78-year-old lifelong Republican Chuck] Virgil tells the small crowd he’s “this close” to supporting Sand, a Democrat, for governor.
Virgil is just one person and one vote. But Sand is hoping it’s interactions like this one, multiplied many, many times over, that will lay the foundation for success in even the reddest parts of the state as he looks to reverse Democrats’ long losing streak in November.
Fueled by record-breaking campaign donations that have netted him an $18 million war chest, Sand is now nearly halfway through his second 100-stop statewide town hall tour of the election cycle.
Democrats don’t expect Sand to flip counties like this one from Republicans on Election Day. But to win a governor’s race for the first time since 2006, the party needs to prevent Republicans from running up the vote margin in these dark-red pockets.
But Sand said his approach here is no different than anywhere else in the state. He expects “a good mix of Iowans from across the political spectrum who care who the next governor’s going to be and are willing to take the time to come out and meet someone who’s willing to meet them.”
This time around, he’s driving the point home even further by also handing his microphone over to one of those Republicans and asking them to share a question or comment.
“At the end of the day, I think the Democratic Party tends to be the party that does a better job of representing the little guy,” he said in Sanborn. “Maybe that’s not true as much now as it used to be. Maybe you don’t think that’s true at all. I’m just telling you what I thought when I signed up as a Democrat. And I know my values haven’t changed, even if the parties’ may have moved.”
Kelly Nieuwenhuis, a 67-year-old Primghar Republican, also attended the O’Brien County town hall in Sanborn. He said he previously voted for Sand for state auditor “because I like checks and balances.”
“I haven’t totally decided, but I’m leaning very hard towards voting for Rob,” [Nieuwenhuis] said. “And it’s just mainly because I really like his campaign slogan of not redder or bluer, but better and truer.”
“I just don’t know [Lahn] that well,” [Nieuwenhuis] said. “I know Rob better.”