Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand announced this (Thursday) morning that his campaign raised more than $9.5 million in 2025, setting an Iowa record for the most money raised during an off-year in a governor’s race. Sand’s campaign reported more than 115,000 donations from over 64,000 individual contributors across all 99 Iowa counties. With $13.2 million cash on hand, Sand’s campaign said it enters the new year with what it calls unprecedented grassroots support. According to the campaign, nearly 97 percent of contributions were $100 or less, with an average donation of $74. About two-thirds of the donations came from Iowans, and the reported total does not include corporate political action committee money, self-funding, or donations from Sand’s in-laws. That last piece is a tongue-in-cheek response to GOP commentary from a year ago that 80 percent of Sand’s total came from his wife, Christine, and her parents, Nixon and Nancy Laurisen. Campaign staff note donors included Democrats, Republicans, and no-party voters. Deputy Campaign Manger Emma O’Brien says, “This record-breaking haul is proof that Iowans are tired of the status quo in Des Moines that has left them behind over the last decade of one-party rule, and are putting their hard-earned dollars behind a campaign that prioritizes people over politics and works to build an Iowa that isn’t redder or bluer, but better and truer.” Sand is currently the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for Iowa Governor. The GOP race is much more competitive, with at least five candidates, Eddie Andrews, Randy Feenstra, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Adam Steen, running full-scale campaigns for the nomination.
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