Rob Sand Brings Message of Unity to Southern and Western Iowa on His 100 Town Hall Tour

Rob Sand: “We can do better than what we’re doing right now.”

DES MOINES, IA — Last week, nominee for governor Rob Sand racked up more miles on his 100 Town Hall Tour across Southern and Western Iowa, making visits to Union, Adams, Taylor, Ringgold, Emmet, Cherokee, Woodbury, Ida, Calhoun, and Pocahontas counties.

Now more than one-third of the way through his annual 100 Town Hall Tour, Rob continues to bring together Democrats, Republicans, and independents for honest conversations about the issues that matter most to their communities.

Learn more about Rob’s recent 100 Town Hall Tour stops below:

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KCAU: Sand hosts town hall in Sioux City, addresses Lahn’s debate counteroffer

As we inch closer and closer to this year’s election, Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand made a visit to Sioux City today in an effort to gain voter support.
Roughly 250 people gathered at the Sioux City Distilling Company on Friday afternoon for Sand’s 100 Town Hall Tour on Thursday evening.
Since the beginning of his campaign, Sand has expressed disappointment in what he calls a “broken political system” that is unnecessarily divided. He is calling for a political system that gives voters more than just red and blue options.
“Giving us only two options is truly more about controlling us than it is about hearing us. We have all these problems in part because the machinery that we have for solving problems … Constitutional self-governance… has been taken over by two private clubs. I think we need to tell both the Democratic and Republican parties that they’re not knocking it out of the park when it comes to solving our problems,” said Sand.

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Sioux City Journal: Rob Sand derides ‘broke’ two-party system, calls out opponent for being an ‘operative’

While Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand’s message at a townhall Thursday night was delivered with a certain kind of jocularity, the content of the two-term state auditor’s message was quite serious.
“Our political system is broken,” Sand told the crowd of at least 250 people gathered at an event space inside Sioux City Distilling Company. “I believe it’s broken by two private clubs.”
For more than an hour, which included time for the singing of the first verse of “America the Beautiful,” Sand pitched himself as the candidate in the race who can deliver a different kind of politics. Someone who can bridge seemingly intractable divides. He took questions from attendees about issues such as data centers, education, carbon-capture pipelines and cancer rates while peppering in jokes about clapping for common sense and someone’s ringtone going off.
Sand, who is running against Zach Lahn, a Republican venture firm owner from Belle Plaine, took care not to paint any number of issues hampering the state as the sole fault of Republicans or Democrats and largely avoided talking about his GOP opponent or even naming him.
To the half-dozen self-identified Republicans who attended the event, Sand tried to show respect by letting them ask questions if they wanted and by having everyone else in the room clap for them for coming out to the town hall. (Sand also led rounds of applause for the self-identified Democrats and independents in the room).

Harlan Newspapers: Sand calls for bipartisanship, government accountability during campaign stop in Harlan

Sand, who is seeking the governor’s office after serving as state auditor, said Iowa has suffered from a decade of one-party control, arguing that it has weakened government accountability and contributed to slow economic growth, rising cancer rates and restrictions on the auditor’s authority.
“If I get elected, I’m going to be working with the Republican legislature,” Sand said. “That means that every budget that we pass, every bill that we pass, is going to have to have bipartisan support.”
Throughout the event, Sand emphasized restoring checks and balances in state government and said he believes politicians make better decisions when they work across party lines.
“If we all work together, then we can make this state not redder or bluer, but better and truer.”

KWIT: Democratic Sand governor campaign draws 250 people in Sioux City

Democratic governor nominee Rob Sand spoke to more than 250 people in a Sioux City campaign stop Thursday, asserting that the “fundamentally divisive” current political system isn’t working for Iowans.
Health care, water quality and education are among his priorities. Regarding the current economy, Sand said, “People notice their pocketbook is lighter.”
About a dozen people raised hands when Sand asked political independents to identify themselves. He has been touting a campaign message of working to win Republican voters, to be a governor for all.

KILR Radio: Rob Sand Make Campaign Stop in Estherville

Democrat candidate for Governor Rob Sand made a campaign stop at the Estherville VFW Monday evening as part of his 100 Town Hall Tour. Sand was elected as State Auditor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Sand is currently the only Democrat holding statewide office. In an interview with KILR News prior to the town hall, Sand explained why he decided to run for Governor.
When asked how he can make things better, Sands touted his track record as State Auditor and as a Prosecutor in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.