STATE OF THE RACE: Rob Sand Outraises All Opponents Combined in Race for Iowa Governor

In 2025, Rob Sand raised a historic $9.5 million — more than his five Republican opponents combined, who raised $7.2 million.

DES MOINES, IA – Newly filed campaign finance reports reveal that Rob Sand’s campaign has outraised all of his opponents — combined — in the race for Iowa governor. Earlier this month, Sand reported raising a record-shattering $9.5 million in 2025 — more than doubling the previous record for the most money raised during an off-year in Iowa’s gubernatorial race. Even the closest one of Rob’s opponents in the race still raised less than half of Rob’s historic fundraising haul. 

“Rob Sand didn’t just outraise every candidate in this race — he outraised all of them combined,” said Campaign Manager Kyle Buda. “Iowans across the state and the political spectrum are rallying behind Rob Sand in record numbers because they’re ready to turn the page on ten years of one-party control that has left them behind and made their problems worse. Iowans are fired up to elect a governor who will put public service ahead of politics and get to work solving their problems. That leader is Rob Sand.”

Half of the Republican field’s fundraising came from congressional transfers or self-funding. Rob Sand’s $9.5 million haul, by contrast, includes donations from Democrats, Republicans, and independents from all 99 counties in Iowa, including contributions from 1,200 registered Republicans and 4,000 registered “no party” voters,  signifying Rob’s ability to “bridge partisan divides with a message appealing to Republicans and independents.” A majority of contributions — two thirds — came from Iowans, and 97 percent of donations to the Sand campaign were $100 or less. 

Read more about Rob Sand’s historic fundraising haul below:

Des Moines Register: Democrat holds huge fundraising lead in 2026 Iowa governor’s race

• Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand raised about $9.5 million last year, bringing his total fundraising for the 2026 election cycle to about $18 million — an aggressive benchmark for this election year.
• Sand’s campaign said he tallied more than 115,000 donations from more than 64,000 individual contributors. His finance report was nearly 6,000 pages long.

The Gazette: Rob Sand raised $9.5M last year, without help from family, in his campaign for Iowa governor

• On the day he launched his campaign for Iowa governor last May, Rob Sand received a staggering 8,180 individual donations to his campaign, totaling more than $2.2 million. On Day 2, another 4,321 donations poured in.
• Sand’s campaign said the 2025 fundraising includes donations from all 99 counties and individuals of all political stripes, including more than 1,200 registered Republican voters from 98 counties and more than 4,000 no-party voters. The campaign also said it received no donations from corporate Political Action Committees.