In the first debate in Iowa's governor's race, Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand each pitched themselves as the candidate who would bring change to Iowa.
In the hourlong debate, which at times grew contentious, they both pledged to work to raise Iowa's public school rankings, curb the rise in cancer rates, and spur Iowa's stagnant economy.
They agreed on some ways to do it.
They both said they supported enacting the voter-approved sales tax increase to fund conservation efforts in Iowa, encouraging a supply of locally grown food for schools, and not giving up-front incentives to large corporations.
They sharply disagreed on other ways. For example, Sand said K-12 schools in Iowa have been underfunded and pledged to support a 5% increase in the first year, while Lahn said Iowa's problem is burdensome regulations on public schools and a need for innovation. Lahn gave a full-throated endorsement to more tax cuts while Sand questioned how the state would pay for them.
Tuesday was the first of four debates between Lahn and Sand. KWQC hosted the debate at St. Ambrose University's Rogalski Center in central Davenport.
Throughout the debate, Lahn attempted to paint Sand as a radical hiding behind moderate stances who is funded by wealthy in-laws. Sand attempted to cast Lahn as a part-time Iowan who isn't prepared for the job of governor. Those exchanges drew some of the most contentious responses of the night.
In introducing himself, Sand, a Democrat, noted that he grew up in Decorah and that he likes to hunt and fish. He focused on his experience as a chief public corruption prosecutor in the Iowa Attorney General's Office and on his two terms as a state auditor, during which he appointed a Republican and an independent to his leadership team.
"Iowa is at a point where we are at the bottom for economic growth. We're at the top for cancer growth. Our public education system is now in the bottom half and that was their priority. I'd say it's time for a change, and I'm offering us a return to what Iowa is," Sand said.
Lahn introduced himself as a sixth-generation Iowan born and raised in Sioux City who spent the past 10 years building businesses, running the family farm in Belle Plaine, and building new private education models.
Lahn said he saw issues facing the state that weren't being addressed by either party — young people leaving the state, family farms lost over the past 20 years, a decline in public school rankings, and a rising rate of cancer.
"I got in this race to address those issues," Lahn said. "I'm not a career politician. I've never ran for office. I want Iowa to be the best place to raise a family, to start a business, to pass something down to the next generation."
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Zach Lahn, Republican candidate for governor, talks with St.
Ambrose University political-science students after a debate Oct.
6, 2026, in Davenport.
SARAH WATSON, QUAD-CITY TIMES
Taxes
Lahn said he supports cutting taxes in a fiscally responsible way and accused Sand of wanting to raise taxes, saying he criticized state and federal measures, which supporters estimated saved the average family of four $7,500 a year in taxes. PolitiFact gave a false rating to a claim in one of Lahn's ads asserting Sand wants to raise taxes by $7,500 as false.
"I think we have to be very honest here about where we're standing," Lahn said. "Rob is supporting the raising of taxes because that's what liberals do. They want to raise taxes. I'm here to cut taxes."
Sand denied Lahn's accusation.
"I like a good tax cut as much as anybody else, but how are you going to pay for it? Are you going to be cutting state troopers? Are we going to have more potholes in the roads, or are you going to raise taxes somewhere else?"
Sand said he supports a balanced budget, noting that Iowa is expected to take in about $1 billion less in revenue than it will spend in the upcoming year.
Lahn praised Republicans' past tax cuts and said Iowa built up its reserves so that it could cut taxes responsibly and return money to Iowans.
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Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand answers questions
from reporters after a debate Oct. 6, 2026, in Davenport.
SARAH WATSON, QUAD-CITY TIMES
Economy
Asked about the recent tax incentives the Legislature passed for a $15 billion steel plant to locate in southeast Iowa, both Lahn and Sand said the state needs to make sure it does not negotiate a lot of up-front incentives.
Sand called the steel plant news "encouraging," and said the company should meet benchmarks, make necessary infrastructure improvements, and be a positive force for Iowans.
Lahn called the deal "transformational" for "an economically depressed part of the state." Lahn praised the expected jobs and investment the plant would bring.
Lahn said it's important that no incentive be given until after the project is done and people are employed.
Asked about how to make Iowa more affordable, Lahn pointed to a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump that would allow red-dye diesel to reduce diesel prices for people in the agriculture industry. Lahn said he suggested the idea to Vice President JD Vance while he rallied in Iowa.
Lahn added that Iowa shouldn't be prioritizing out-of-state projects that employ few people, such as data centers and called for eliminating tax breaks for them.
Asked if he would consider raising the minimum wage, Lahn did not answer and instead said he would go after consolidation in the agriculture and food industries. He said he would increase the budget for the attorney general's office earmarked for "anti-competition lawsuits to bring competition back to our farmers."
Sand suggested capping the fees that public utilities charge users and transitioning Medicaid from private management to nonprofits, which he pledged to begin on his first day in office with an executive order.
"I think that's going to not only bring down the costs for Iowans, but also improve the quality of care," Sand said, pointing to a report from his office that found a 500% increase in denials after Medicaid transitioned to being privately managed.
Sand said he would support raising the minimum wage, but noted that it would take legislative action. Sand also suggested that Iowa establish a pharmaceutical drug review board to negotiate prices and cap insulin prices. Also, Sand said he'd support measures to make housing more affordable, such as overlapping Iowa Finance Authority inspections with municipal inspections to speed up projects.
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Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn answers questions
from reporters after a debate Oct. 6, 2026, in Davenport.
SARAH WATSON, QUAD-CITY TIMES
Accuations
Several times, Sand referred to Lahn splitting time between Iowa and Kansas.
Lahn said the Kansas issue is the "central lie of Rob Sand's campaign."
Lahn has a blended family and some of children split time between Iowa and Kansas. Lahn accused Sand of attacking his children.
Asked how accessible Lahn will be if he's elected, Lahn dismissed the premise as "debunked."
"This is a full-time job, and I'm here for it. 100%. There's many families across the state that have abundant families that have come up to me and said these attacks against you are despicable, and I agree" Lahn said.
Lahn said the Kansas issue is meant to distract from Sand's liberal stances and that his in-laws have contributed heavily to his campaign.
Sand pointed to Lahn's voting record in Kansas in 2018, 2020, and 2022, and to Lahn's registration to vote in Iowa in 2024.
"This is about the fact that you're not in Iowa," Sand said. "There are 3.1 million people who live here, and they need to have a full-time Iowan."
Sand also pushed back on Lahn's claims that he's a radical liberal.
Sand pointed to his appointment of an independent and a Republican as deputies in the auditor's office. Sand said he upsets people of both political parties, pointing to his no for taxpayers to pay to settle sexual harassment lawsuits. Sand said he's registered in the past as an independent and registered as a Democrat in order to vote in the primary, a requirement he has called to change.
In his closing statement, Sand said the election was between a "change candidate and a change-of-address candidate."
Education
Both candidates lamented Iowa's drop in rankings in Iowa's education system. Sand praised the Legislature for increasing starting teacher pay, but said Iowa needs to pay experienced teachers more competitive wages so it doesn't lose them to other states.
Sand said he would like to see a 5% increase in school funding if elected in his first year as governor, but he said he doesn't want to make a promise after that because of the state's budget deficit. State lawmakers most recently increased school funding by 2% this past year.
"I'd like to give them a boost after having funded them below the rate of inflation for years," Sand said.
Sand also took aim at the state's program that funds private school expenses for families, calling for more auditing oversight and income caps.
Lahn noted his experience starting private schools and said Iowa has increased funding without seeing results.
"The issue is we lack innovation in public schools," Lahn said. "We have too much red tape in our public schools. We don't have the ability for teachers to meet the needs of students like they'd like."
Lahn called for opening "innovation zones" within public schools and establishing non-punitive small groups for disruptive kids to get more one-on-one time with educators.
As for state funding for private school expenses, Lahn said, "Kids deserve to have great opportunities."
Lahn said he's in favor of third-party auditing for the private schools, but accused Sand of holding press conferences highlighting problems in small schools while larger schools mismanaged funds.
Agriculture
Sand said Iowa needs someone who will stand up to federal policies he said are hurting farmers, such as the trade war with Canada.
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Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand answers a question
from St. Ambrose University political-science students after a
debate Oct. 6, 2026.
SARAH WATSON, QUAD-CITY TIMES
Sand said he supported local foods in Iowa schools, a program that was cut.
Lahn said he would like to "start treating small family farms as the entrepreneurial activities that they are" and start an economic development program that would help a farmer transition to other commodities.
Lahn called for a "moonshot goal" to have 80% of the food served in public schools grown in Iowa.
Cancer rates
Lahn said rising cancer rates were one of the foundational reasons he launched his campaign. He called for more funding for saturated buffers near streams that treat and remove nitrates from water.
Sand called for more radon mitigation in homes, and looked at Iowa's high rates of smoking and drinking. He also said Iowans should have access to treatments and accused Lahn of saying he would support banning mRNA vaccines.
Lahn denied Sand's assertion and said he would support cancer treatments. Lahn said he does support pulling the COVID-19 vaccine from the market in Iowa.
Local government
Answering a question about local government budgets and recent changes to property taxes, Lahn said his long-term goal is for Iowa to eliminate property taxes and on residential homes and institute blockchain technology to make government transactions publicly viewable for "citizen auditors."
Sand said he was glad to see reform happen on property taxes, but that there are issues with it because it was passed last minute.
"We need to live with this property tax reform for a little bit before we really know what's good and what's bad," Sand said.
Lahn said he would support banning all Flock cameras in Iowa, in answer to a question from a St. Ambrose political science student post-debate.
When are the next debates?
Lahn and Sand will meet again at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 in Sioux City in a debate hosted by KTIV. The debate will air on KTIV and stream online through KTIV's live-streaming app, KTIV News 4 Now and ktiv.com.
Iowa PBS will host a debate on Oct. 21. The 90-minute debate begins at 7 p.m. at the network’s Johnston studios. It will air statewide on Iowa PBS and be streamed on iowapbs.org and YouTube.
KCRG-TV9 and The Gazette will host a 90-minute debate at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in Cedar Rapids.
