Rob Sand Leads Iowa Governor Race With 100-Town-Hall Pitch on Costs, Corruption and Cancer
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 10
Rob Sand Leads Iowa Governor Race With 100-Town-Hall Pitch on Costs, Corruption and Cancer
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 10
Summary
Rob Sand, Iowa’s state auditor, holds a narrow lead in the governor’s race after centering his campaign on “Costs, Corruption and Cancer” in a state with the nation’s fastest-growing rate of new cancer cases.
At several town halls, Sand tied rising illness, nitrate-tainted water and tariff-hit farms to a Des Moines government he says is too close to agribusiness and polluters.
The 43-year-old Democrat has avoided making Donald Trump the race’s focal point, instead stressing water cleanup, anti-corruption and election changes including nonpartisan primaries and approval voting.
Sand’s 100-town-hall strategy and moderate, anti-establishment message are being cast as a possible Democratic playbook in red states where problem-solving can resonate more than partisanship.
That makes Iowa a test of whether a Democrat can break a Republican hold that has kept the governorship out of the party’s hands since 2011.