DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Iowa Democrat currently serving in statewide office, announced a bid Monday for the open governor's race in an effort to break up a long streak of Republican leadership in the state.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds made a surprise announcement last month that she would not seek a third term, leaving a wide open Republican primary and offering Democrats a glimmer of hope that they could make inroads in a midterm year with President Donald Trump in the White House.
“In Iowa, we know it’s not about right versus left, but right versus wrong," Sand said in his announcement. “As governor, I will always do what’s right for Iowans.”
It’s an uphill battle in a state that Trump won by 13 percentage points in 2024 and Reynolds by 18 percentage points in 2022. The state has shifted dramatically in favor of Republicans since 2006, the last time there was a governor’s race without an incumbent candidate.
Sand was first elected state auditor in 2018 by a margin of about 4 percentage points over his Republican opponent. But his election was far more competitive in 2022, when he won by less than 3,000 votes, or about three-tenths of a percentage.
Recent voter registration data show nearly 200,000 more active voters registered as Republicans than Democrats.
Sand often draws on his experience growing up in a small town in northeast Iowa, hunting and fishing. He has said he appeals to a bipartisan coalition of voters across all parts of Iowa, urban and rural.
His campaign will also benefit from an amassed $8 million in campaign contributions last year, most of which came from his extended family’s pockets.
This story has been updated to correct that Sand is state auditor, not state treasurer.
FILE - Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand talks with residents Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Audubon, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
