Rob's Priorities

A small group of powerful insiders in Des Moines are putting special interests and themselves first while everyday Iowans are being left behind. And where has that gotten us? Just a few years ago, Iowa was in the top five for best states of education, but after a decade of one-party rule in Des Moines we’ve fallen to the middle of the pack. Earlier this year, the Trump administration ranked Iowa’s economy 49th in the nation and 48th for personal income growth. At the same time, Iowa’s cancer growth rate is the highest in the nation.

“We’re winning the contests we want to lose, and losing the contests we want to win.”

Rob Sand knows we need to move Iowa in a new direction

As Governor, Rob will get Iowa back on track – he’ll build consensus to get the state government out of the culture wars and focused on lowering costs, growing the economy, improving our education system, and helping Iowans live better, healthier lives.

As State Auditor, Rob has uncovered a record amount of waste, fraud, and abuse. The insiders in Des Moines responded to Rob’s success by stripping the Auditor’s ability to find misspent tax dollars. As Governor, Rob will work to restore the taxpayer’s watchdog and to prevent your hard-earned money from being wasted. Rob’s office has also uncovered a shockingly high amount of illegal denials of care under Iowa’s Medicaid privatization executive order – which result in higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs for you and your family. As Governor, Rob will reverse the privatization of Medicaid the same way it was passed – by an executive order.

As State Auditor, Rob instituted Statewide Work, Statewide Jobs, a program that cuts bureaucratic red tape and allows employees in his office to live anywhere in the state of Iowa, instead of forcing them to live in urban areas like Des Moines, Ames, or Iowa City, which are already growing and prosperous. As Governor, Rob has pledged to enact a similar program for state employees who can do their work anywhere in Iowa. This program would help revitalize small towns and rural communities who’ve seen jobs and opportunities disappear. Rob also eliminated the 4-year degree requirement to work in the Auditor’s office.

It’s time to restore the slogan on Iowa’s quarter: “foundation in education.” New investments and initiatives, like universal all day pre-K, are needed to give our students the edge they need to compete for good paying jobs. Iowa’s private school voucher program takes resources away from public schools, and has no accountability for how that money is being spent. We can pay for universal pre-K by no longer sending our taxpayer dollars to Iowa’s wealthiest families to pay for the private school tuition they were going to pay on their own anyway. As Governor, Rob will fight to bring more oversight over the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent each year on vouchers.

Rob’s Reforms will put the public, not political parties, in charge of our state, and will make politicians work together like normal Iowans to solve problems

Rob is among the only candidates who will say the obvious: neither the Democrats nor the Republicans solve enough problems to earn their shared monopoly on our choices at the ballot box. If voters have more options that can win, we can break their stranglehold and make sure elected officials have to do more than just wear the right color hat to get reelected. Rob supports having a public primary where all eligible voters can participate, which would finally make independent voters equal in our state. From that, the top 4 candidates can advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. In the general election, candidates will be encouraged to be civil and honest by using Approval Voting, where each voter can vote for as many of the four candidates as they approve of. The candidate with the most votes wins, as usual. How will a candidate earn approval from voters who most strongly prefer one of their opponents? By being kind, honest, and civil with their opponents, and by working to actually solve problems for those voters instead of dividing us.

Rob Sand has the record to get it done

After serving two terms as Iowa State Auditor, uncovering record amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse, and working across the aisle while holding both parties accountable, Rob Sand is the leader Iowa needs to get back on track. As Governor, Rob will work with both parties to grow and strengthen the economy, lower costs, support public education, and help Iowans live better, healthier lives.

Rob Will Take the Time to Get it Right

Rob and his campaign are dedicated to getting issues right, rather than jumping to conclusions. While you can find his general views on most issues by following on social media, he will roll out detailed policy proposals throughout the campaign here. Sign up to receive email updates here to follow along.