IOWA ELECTIONS 2026 · GOVERNOR
Two tickets. One statewide choice.
Meet the candidates and compare their priorities.
Make your picks and explore scenarios. Contest entry is optional.
REPUBLICAN
With Derek Wulf
Lieutenant governor
DEMOCRATIC
With Dave Muhlbauer
Lieutenant governorGovernor and lieutenant governor are elected together.
OCTOBER 14 DEBATE · GOVERNOR
Their competing plans for schools, property taxes and the workforce, plus school meals, data centers and accountability.
· Updated October 17 · 8 min read
Governor debates · All times Central. October 21 Iowa PBS debate postponed; no replacement date confirmed. Official PBS schedule update.
Upcoming
Hosted with The Gazette. Watch on KCRG 9.2, KCRG.com, or the KCRG app.
Past debate
The October 6 debate is available to watch in full.
Past debate
The October 14 debate is available on KTIV’s official video page.
Postponed · new date unconfirmed
Originally
Iowa PBS confirms that the governor candidates will not debate this week and says the debate may be rescheduled. The October 21 event will not take place as scheduled. No replacement date is confirmed.
Checked October 21: the broadcaster’s program page now carries an explicit schedule update. Its older event date remains below that notice; the schedule update governs.
Upcoming viewing links open the broadcaster. The postponed Iowa PBS entry links to the reported schedule update. Calendar downloads are available only for scheduled debates; they use your local time zone and include a reminder one hour before the start. The original Iowa PBS date is retained for reference, not as a future broadcast.
KWQC’s October 6 debate was scheduled without an in-person audience. See host details. Check each host for schedule changes.
Times and viewing details come from the linked broadcasters.
THE CANDIDATES
Official candidate list · The official candidate list is dated August 19, 2026. Positions summarize campaign materials, not enacted policy.
Showing all four issue areas for both candidates.
REPUBLICAN
With Derek Wulf · Lieutenant governor
A farmer and businessman from Belle Plaine, Lahn is the Republican nominee. His campaign emphasizes Iowa ownership, family farming, lower taxes, and socially conservative policy.
DEMOCRATIC
With Dave Muhlbauer · Lieutenant governor
Iowa’s state auditor and a former assistant attorney general, Sand grew up in Decorah. His campaign emphasizes government accountability, rural opportunity, affordability, and access to health care.
Additional campaign sources: Sand: economic priorities · Sand: health policy · Sand: education . These are proposals, not enacted policy.
Photos: Zach Lahn · Aunger67 and Rob Sand · Rob Sand for Governor, both dedicated to the public domain under CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN
As of
· Governor debate
Rob Sand and Zach Lahn met at St. Ambrose University for a KWQC-hosted gubernatorial debate.
Watch the full broadcast· Campaign priorities
A campaign statement outlined support for farm conservation tax credits, local food programs and additional farm revenue sources.
Read the campaign statement· Campaign interview
Lahn discussed agricultural competition and farm costs on CBS’s Face the Nation.
Read the CBS interviewIndependent reviews of campaign claims. Ratings are PolitiFact’s. Context cards carry no truth rating.
The claim: Iowa once had “the best public schools in the country,” but is now “in the bottom half.”
The review: PolitiFact found that Iowa previously ranked highly on some measures, but there was no clear basis for calling it the overall national leader. Rankings depend on the measure; one places Iowa’s K–12 schools 26th in 2026.
Context: Different rankings measure different aspects of education. A change in rank alone does not establish which policy caused it.
Read PolitiFact’s education review and sourcesThe claim: Sand wants to increase Iowans’ taxes by $7,500 per year.
The review: PolitiFact found that the evidence cited in Lahn’s ad did not support that amount. Sand’s campaign told the outlet that he does not support reversing Iowa’s recently enacted individual income-tax cuts.
Context: Sand has separately supported some sales-tax increases, including on tobacco. That does not establish the ad’s specific $7,500 annual figure; an Iowa governor also cannot repeal federal tax provisions.
Read PolitiFact’s tax review and sourcesThe claim: Lahn’s ad said the owners of the company associated with Sand’s family gave him $13 million.
The review: KCRG reports that Sand’s relatives contributed $13.1 million since 2018. That is a cumulative total across campaigns, not solely the 2026 governor race.
Context: The reported donors were relatives who own the business, rather than the corporation itself. This summary does not verify the ad’s separate claim that the giving was the largest in Iowa history.
Read KCRG’s donor review · Sand campaign response, September 17
The claims: Lahn linked Sand’s family donations to nitrate-fertilizer sales; Sand denied that his in-laws’ business sells nitrate fertilizer.
Context: The corporate ownership page describes Lauridsen subsidiary Boyer Valley’s products as organic, nitrogen-rich fertilizer made from poultry byproducts. Nitrogen content and nitrate fertilizer are not interchangeable descriptions. The product listing alone does not establish that these products caused contamination in Iowa waterways.
The claim: Sand said Lahn voted in Kansas in those three years.
The review: PolitiFact reports that Lahn voted in Kansas general elections in 2018 and 2020 and the August 2022 primary. It also reports subsequent Iowa votes in 2024 and 2025.
Context: This summarizes PolitiFact’s reporting; Iowa Decides has not independently verified the underlying individual voter-history records. Past voting history alone does not establish present residency or future availability as governor.
The claim: Hinson said Turek missed 58% of Statehouse votes that year.
The review: PolitiFact counted 261 missed votes out of 445 House floor votes from January 12 through April 2, 2026. Those counts equal about 58.7%.
Context: The count covers House floor votes, not committee or subcommittee votes. Iowa Decides has verified the published review, but has not independently recounted the House journals.
The claim: WinSenate’s ad said Hinson voted against releasing the Epstein files.
The review: PolitiFact distinguishes earlier procedural votes opposing efforts to advance release from Hinson’s later vote for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Context: The official House roll call confirms Hinson voted for the bill on November 18, 2025; it passed 427–1. A procedural vote and final passage are different actions.
The claim: A Senate Leadership Fund ad described Turek’s immigration position as support for “amnesty.”
The review: PolitiFact says the ad leaves out conditions in the Dignity Act that Turek supports, including background checks, employment requirements, taxes and fines. The proposal would grant some immigrants limited legal status, rather than a general route to citizenship.
Context: “Amnesty” is disputed political terminology. The Dignity Act is a proposal, not enacted law.
Original claim and review dates appear on each card.
Past debate: U.S. Senate on October 13, 9–10 p.m., on Nexstar / WHO 13. Read the October 13 debate article. All times Central. Congress debate schedules and viewing details. Replay: October 7 Senate debate · Replay: October 8 IA-02 debate. Watch the October 9 Attorney General candidate interview.
Early voting began October 14 and is underway. Plan your vote · Read about Amendment 1. New October 15 Marist release: Sand 52%, Lahn 45%; fieldwork October 8–11. Latest governor fieldwork: co/efficient, October 15–19; released October 19; Sand 49%, Lahn 45%.
THE RUNNING MATES
Iowa voters choose governor and lieutenant governor together as a ticket. These profiles identify the running mates; ticket priorities are not a separately elected lieutenant-governor agenda.
Republican · Lahn / Wulf
Background
State representative for House District 76 and chair of the House Agriculture Committee; farmer and rancher from Hudson with prior agricultural-industry experience.
Ticket priorities
The Lahn campaign proposes stronger support for young farmers and Iowa-owned businesses, opposes eminent domain for private profit, and calls for incentives to reduce agricultural runoff.
Democratic · Sand / Muhlbauer
Background
Crawford County supervisor and fifth-generation Iowa farmer. His county assignments include workforce development, early-childhood programs and regional government cooperation.
Ticket priorities
The Sand campaign proposes strengthening public education, lowering household costs and allowing eligible state jobs to be based around Iowa to support rural communities. Muhlbauer's campaign introduction emphasizes family farming and public schools.
Candidate information as of October 12, 2026.
Explore county results from the 2022 governor election and recent turnout.
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Historical results are not a forecast of the 2026 race. Governor vote shares use valid votes for all candidates and write-ins; blank and overvoted ballots are excluded. Turnout is the state’s reported share of all registered voters, including active and inactive registrations. These are different election years, with different contests and electorates.
All 99 counties are included. Retrieved September 17, 2026. County boundaries: CC0 Wikimedia map based on U.S. Census geography; interactive styling added. County codes: U.S. Census Bureau.
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