State Auditor Rob Sand intends to decide which office he’s running for in 2026 well before the end of next year, he confirmed during a September 30 appearance on Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck Zoom podcast. Sand talked mostly about his work as auditor during the interview. When Gammack opened the floor to questions, I asked about his future plans.

The only remaining Democratic statewide official in Iowa, Sand is widely perceived as a potential candidate for governor in 2026. If he runs, he could clear the Democratic field.

I raised the question of timing because Sand also considered running for higher office in 2021. He ruled out a U.S. Senate bid in May of that year but did not announce he would seek a second term as auditor until early December. Does he plan to leave other prospective candidates for governor hanging for most of 2025, or let Iowans know sooner, perhaps in the summer or early fall?

“So, I’m a human being,” Sand began. He hadn’t gone through that “complicated” and “difficult” process before the last election cycle. “And let me tell you, there’s no one who wishes I would have decided faster more than me. Maybe my wife,” he laughed.

“But it’s hard to figure it out,” Sand went on. There are personal factors to consider as well as “really important decisions” for the state and the public. Weighing his options in 2021 “was really difficult. I have now been through this once before. I think it will be easier, and I don’t think it will take as long this time.”

Sand didn’t set any deadline for a decision.

By the time the auditor declined to enter the 2022 governor’s race, State Representative Ras Smith and Deidre DeJear had been seeking the Democratic nomination for months. Some Democrats weren’t happy Sand left others little time to pull together a campaign. Smith dropped out in January 2022, and another possible challenger to Governor Kim Reynolds concluded he could not raise the funds or name ID to be a viable candidate. That left DeJear unopposed for the nomination—and largely invisible from news media coverage before the June 2022 primary.

One variable could complicate Sand’s decision-making: Reynolds has not clarified whether she intends to retire at the end of her current term, or when she will announce her own 2026 plans. As a general rule, it’s harder to run a successful race against an incumbent. Sand would presumably have a better chance against a different Republican, who would start the campaign with lower name ID and less money in the bank.

On the other hand, the last three Iowa Polls by Selzer & Co. for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom have found Sand has a higher approval rating than Reynolds and much lower disapproval numbers. The latest poll, taken in September, found 53 percent of Iowa adults approve of Sand’s work, while only 15 percent disapprove. Reynolds’ approval was lower than ever at 45 percent, with 50 percent disapproving. Only 41 percent of respondents said things in Iowa are headed in the right direction, while 51 percent said the state is on the wrong track.

Sand also has far better ratings than Attorney General Brenna Bird, who is expected to run for governor if Reynolds doesn’t seek another term. Last month’s Iowa Poll found 39 percent approve and 29 percent disapprove of Bird’s work.

Democrats aren’t the only ones who see Sand as a leading candidate for higher office. The Republican Governors Association has hired a tracker to film the auditor at the public town hall meetings he holds annually in all 99 counties. I took this picture of the tracker at last month’s event in Knoxville.

Republican tracker films State Auditor Rob Sand’s remarks in Knoxville on September 4

Iowans attending the auditor’s town halls periodically ask about the next election, but Sand declines to answer any campaign-related questions at official appearances.