Rob Sand’s “Popularity Across the Political Spectrum is Hard to Ignore”

VAN HORNE, IA – Last week, candidate for governor Rob Sand drew more than 50 Iowans to a family farm in rural Benton County for the latest stop on his 100 Town Hall Tour, with the Tama-Telegraph noting his “popularity across the political spectrum is hard to ignore these days,” and that Rob brought energy to an area that other Democrats have “all but written off for more than a decade.”. As he criss-crosses Iowa, Rob is focused on doing what too many elected officials won’t — showing up in every community, hearing people’s concerns, and ensuring every Iowan has a voice.

At the town hall, Rob answered questions from Iowans about their most pressing issues, such as Iowa’s education system and private school vouchers, Medicaid and mental health care, and tackling the state’s skyrocketing cancer rate.

Read more about Rob’s visit to Benton County HERE, or key quotes below:

Democratic State Auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand’s popularity across the political spectrum is hard to ignore these days as he chips away at visiting all 99 of Iowa’s counties…as part of his 100 Town Hall Tour.
Sand’s non-partisan image which emphasizes pragmatism, grace, and a love of gas station pizza and homemade pie is seemingly paying dividends now in his uphill battle to flip the governor’s mansion in 2026.
But what flew under the radar during Sand’s recent town hall in rural Benton County was not how many registered Republicans or Independents showed up – roughly a handful – but that he was able to draw such a large crowd of Democrats outside an urban center in a county his own party has all but written off for more than a decade.
In further explaining his decision to align with Democrats, Sand invoked Jesus Christ – “I think Jesus is for the little guy and I think the Democratic Party, at its best, is for the little guy.” – an explanation that ended up being one of several times he referenced Jesus or a story from the Bible as part of his remarks.
Sand took a question from this newspaper regarding public education in rural districts and the ever-increasing struggle to remain viable. When asked what was going to happen to public schools under a possible Sand administration, he replied, “We’re going to have more support for them. If I’m governor, we center public schools as the source of education in the state of Iowa.”
“Being a guy from Decorah and knowing that our work is done in all 99 counties, I said, ‘Well, why don’t we let people live anywhere?’ And, I didn’t really get a good answer. It’s 2025. Remote work can work. And we should be supportive of that because I think it would help us get more people who want to be in small towns and in rural areas out to those areas which would make a tremendous impact on whether or not those areas survive.”
The 50-some Democrats who [heard Rob Sand’s message] appeared more than energized following the visit. As they made their way to their cars scattered around the property’s many outbuildings, the excitement in people’s chatter was hard to miss.