Can a Democrat stop Iowa’s red drift? 5 moments from the governor’s debate

Iowa's race to replace retiring Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who is leaving after nearly a decade in office, got a 90-minute debate Tuesday night between Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn. The contest is the state's first open governor's race in 20 years, and Sand hopes to become the first Democrat in that span to win the office in a state that has moved rightward over the past decade. Fox News's final Power Rankings rated the matchup Lean Democrat, and published polls show Sand ahead.

Sand, a former assistant attorney general now serving his second term as state auditor, is the only Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa. He had no primary opponent. Lahn, a businessman who describes himself as an entrepreneur and farmer, came through a five-candidate Republican field that included Representative Randy Feenstra, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed.

On stage, the two discussed fraud, data centers and cultural questions, including abortion, parental rights and transgender issues involving children, and they agreed on a few matters. Sand said he would veto any culture war bill, arguing that lawmakers should devote all their time to concerns shared by every Iowan.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →