Rob Sand Hits the Ground Running in October to Kick Off “Iowa for All” Tour

DES MOINES, IA – After wrapping up his second 100 Town Hall Tour of the campaign and ninth annual tour as a public servant, nominee for governor Rob Sand isn’t slowing down. He’s continuing to show up in communities across Iowa, listening to voters, hearing about the challenges they’re facing, and talking about his plans to make Iowa work better for everyone.

Since wrapping up the tour, Rob has launched his “Iowa For All” tour, starting out with a visit with residents at a senior living facility, touring economic development projects in Adams County, grabbing a morning coffee in Davenport with voters to talk about Iowa’s toughest challenges, touring and joining a roundtable discussion at a Coralville food pantry, talking with students at Grinnell College, and firing up a standing-room-only crowd in Indianola. From small-town Main Streets to college campuses, Rob is continuing to meet Iowans where they are, bringing people together around the issues that matter most, and making the case for an Iowa that’s not redder or bluer, but better and truer.

See more about Rob’s time on the road below:

On Monday, October 5, Rob toured Corning with members of the Adams County Economic Development Corporation to learn more about local economic development efforts and discuss how his “Opportunities for All” plan will support small businesses, strengthen small-town Main Streets, and create more opportunities for rural Iowa communities as governor.

On Wednesday, October 7th, Rob Sand met with students and community members at Grinnell College to discuss how our broken two-party system keeps us divided, and the importance of coming together to focus on the issues that matter most to Iowans.

WATCH:

KCAU: Rob Sand speaks with voters in central Iowa

READ:

Quad City Times: After debate, Rob Sand takes questions at Davenport coffee shop

“I know that if I win, I’m going to be working with that same Republican Legislature that passed the reforms, and so me running around and just hollering that we’re going to go back, that’d be me being dishonest with you,” Sand said. “Maybe you feel that we should, but I won’t stand up and tell you a thing that I don’t think is realistic.”
Juan Kamacho of Bettendorf asked Sand about his position on income limits for the Education Savings Accounts, the state program that provides state funding for families’ private school expenses.
Sand has said he supports income caps on Education Savings Accounts so that taxpayers aren’t paying for the wealthiest families in Iowa to attend private school.
“It just doesn’t make sense to be giving it to the wealthiest folks in the state, especially when we’ve got that budget deficit,” Sand said. “And for the folks that are already in it, I think at the end of the day, the idea would be we’re going to be going back to a level where, when we say, ‘Oh, we’re putting the limit here,’ they might say shoot or darn, but it’s not going to change their lives because they’re still making enough money that it’s not a struggle for them to afford it.”

Washington Examiner: Democratic governor nominee Rob Sand bashes Trump over Iowa’s food stamps problems

Sand held a roundtable discussion at the Coralville Community Food Pantry and discussed with local charitable leaders how the federal SNAP changes have affected local communities, particularly in rural Iowa.
Sand criticized the Republican House members and senators representing Iowa in Washington for voting in support of SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the first place.
“If we had a better system, we would probably have people who actually worked to stop those cuts before they started because they would understand that their job was representing Iowans,” Sand said.
Sand chided Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) for turning down roughly $30 million in federal assistance to provide summertime subsidized or free lunches for children in Iowa who receive state assistance during the school year.
“When we have a chance to bring federal money into the state of Iowa to do something that’s just a fundamentally good thing, we’re going to take every opportunity that we can to do that,” Sand said.

Indianola Independent Advocate: Sand makes final push in Indianola

During the main event, before about 200 spectators, Sand pushed back on the amount of time Lahn spends in Kansas, where some of his children live.
“This is a big job and you have to be in Iowa to do it,” said Sand. “We can laugh about this, but here’s where the laughter stops. Imagine being governor of a state you’re only in half the time. Who’s going to suffer for that?”
Sand said Iowans are “sick and tired of a political system designed to get politicians re-elected instead of solving the problems that we face. That’s what we want to do if we win this race.”
“It’s not in the bag,” he said. “We know we can win, but we have work to do. I don’t want to get to Nov. 3 and say, ‘Shoot, I should have done another afternoon knocking doors. I should have called a few more friends. Once we hit Nov. 3, we’re done. This is over. We either won and we have a new direction for the state of Iowa, or we haven’t. You are a part of that.”
Sand encouraged people do everything from door knocking to phone calling to posting their support on social media. The event drew in both longtime Democrats, and newcomers to the party.
“We were going to vote for him anyway,” said Andy Massoth of Indianola, who said he was an independent, but couldn’t vote for Republicans he is seeing on the ballot. “It’s not about party, it’s about issues and getting things done. I hope he can pull it off and do what he’s saying.”