Iowa · 2026 United States general election · November 3

Governor

candidates: 3
researched: 2

Official source: Iowa Secretary of State, Elections Division (Paul D. Pate) ↗(opens in a new tab) · check the state's own candidate list for the final word

Governor Vote for one

Rob Sand Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand is the 2026 Democratic nominee for Iowa governor. Full profile → Zach Lahn Republican Zach Lahn, Iowa farmer and entrepreneur, is the 2026 Republican nominee for governor in his first run for office. Full profile →

Nicholas Gluba Libertarian Libertarian candidate for governor who was removed from the November ballot after an objection based on his lieutenant-governor running mate Jules Cutler's failure to submit a required candidacy affidavit, with removal upheld by a district court. Withdrew

Candidate list checked 7 d ago

Side by side

One line per issue, from each candidate’s own sourced positions. Open a profile for the quotes and sources behind it.

Issue	Rob Sand Democratic	Zach Lahn Republican
Economy & jobs	Supports raising minimum wage, rural investment, and small business aid	Favors property tax relief, farm-friendly economic policies
Housing	Supports building more homes, restricting hedge fund land purchases	Ban hedge funds from buying homes; tax incentives for young buyers
Health care	Supports ending Medicaid privatization and lowering prescription costs	Supports private Medicaid MCOs with restrictions; anti-AI claim denials
Immigration	Open to welcoming more people to Iowa; supports immigration reform	Ban H-1B visas in state government; end benefits for undocumented immigrants
Abortion & reproductive rights	Would veto further restrictions on abortion access as governor	Believes life begins at conception; supports further abortion restrictions
Education	Supports public school funding boost and voucher accountability	Supports ESAs, school choice, reduced testing, teacher accountability
Climate & energy	Supports major wetlands/conservation expansion and water-quality accountability	Supports data-center moratorium pending environmental rules
Crime & public safety	Prioritizes public safety funding; supports worker coverage	Supports law and order; would increase prison funding
Taxes & budget	Accepts prior income-tax cuts; wants to close budget deficit	Opposes all tax increases; wants to eliminate income tax
Guns	Self-described gun owner and Second Amendment supporter	Supports allowing permit holders to carry firearms on school property
Democracy & elections	Supports open primaries, approval voting, and bipartisan governance	Supports paper ballots; claims election fraud occurred in 2020
Foreign policy & defense	Called Israel a great ally in an audit-related context	Would confiscate land illegally owned by China in Iowa

← All Iowa races