Iowa Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Rejects Help From Kamala Harris And Joe Biden On Campaign Trail

Rob Sand, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Iowa, said in an interview released Wednesday that former Vice President Kamala Harris should not run for president in 2028.

“Nope,” Sand remarked, after Politico’s Jonathan Martin asked him whether Harris should seek the Democratic nomination again.

He also brushed off questions about Harris, who ran two unsuccessful bids for the White House, potentially campaigning for him.

“No thanks,” the Iowa state auditor said when pressed on the issue.

“Let’s move on,” he added. “We need some new leadership.”

Harris has not definitively said whether she will run for president again in 2028, but she said in April she “might” do so.

“I’m thinking about it,” the former vice president told the Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network’s annual convention.

Sand is facing off against Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the race to succeed outgoing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R). A Democrat has not won an Iowa gubernatorial election since former Gov. Chet Culver (D) two decades ago.

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Rob Sand on a Kamala Harris 2028 run: "Nope."

Sand could become Iowa's first Dem governor in two decades, but he's not interested in help on the campaign trail from prominent party names like Harris or Biden.

Watch his full interview with our @jmart: https://t.co/08NH2EzXGB pic.twitter.com/nTPRSmIWiG

— POLITICO (@politico) August 26, 2026

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The margin-of-error results in the Hawkeye State are stoking Democratic hopes of scoring midterm victories in unexpected places.

In the governor’s race, Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand is leading Republican businessman Zach Lahn by 4 percentage points, 48%-44%.

In the Senate race, Republican congresswoman Ashley Hinson is leading Democratic state representative Josh Turek by 4 points, 45%-41%.

“Keep in mind this is a state that Donald Trump won by more than 13 points in 2024,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. No Democrat has been elected governor of Iowa in 20 years, and none has been elected to the Senate in 18.

The poll of 500 likely voters, taken Aug. 20-23 by landline and cell phone, has an error margin of plus or minus 4.4 points.

Asked their “primary motivation” for voting in the midterm election, 30% said it was to “express dissatisfaction with the current national political climate.” That’s more than the number who cited supporting a specific candidate’s vision (11%) and weighing in on local ballot issues (16%), combined.

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