Rob Sand, 42, is Iowa's State Auditor and the only Democrat holding statewide office. He was first elected in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Mary Mosiman, and re-elected in 2022 with 50.1% despite a difficult year for Democrats nationally. Sand grew up in Decorah, attended Brown University (Truman Scholar), and earned his law degree from University of Iowa in 2010. He served as an assistant attorney general under Tom Miller for seven years, prosecuting major public corruption and financial crimes cases including the Hot Lotto fraud scandal. As auditor since 2019, he created the Public Innovations and Efficiencies (PIE) program recognizing government fiscal efficiency, which inspired similar programs in other states. Sand and his wife Christine (CEO of Lauridsen Group, a family nutrition business) have two sons.
Sand is a career public servant and prosecutor. He served as assistant attorney general prosecuting public corruption cases for seven years under Attorney General Tom Miller. As state auditor since 2019, he has focused on identifying waste, fraud, and abuse in state government. He is the only Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa, having survived the 2022 Republican wave while other Democratic statewide incumbents lost their seats.