Iowa’s two candidates for governor agree the state is falling behind. But at Tuesday’s debate, they were split on how to fix it, and at times on whether to actually answer the question they were asked.
At a KWQC debate hosted at St. Ambrose University, Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn clashed on questions concerning residency, wages, and school funding. These were among the highlights of the debate:
Does Zach Lahn live in Kansas?
The debate’s most heated stretch started with a jab.
“I don’t know how the Kansas state auditor’s office works but we are funded in large part by payment from our clients at the local level,” Sand said.
Lahn demanded to respond and despite the moderator trying to move the section where he could, Lahn proceeded to called Sand’s Kansas attack “the central lie” of his campaign.
“I’m a sixth-generation Iowan. I live in Iowa today. I have lived in Iowa,” Lahn said.
Lahn claimed that his Kansas residency had been debunked, but the story has been a consistent theme since the primary. In May, the Des Moines Register reported on the frequent flights on his plane to a second home in Kansas. He helped set up a private school in Wichita and was registered to vote there as recently as 2022, the Kansas Reflector reported. And recently, his Strava account was in the news, as he logged miles of biking in Kansas via the popular app in 2025.
Asked whether voters can count on him to be accessible, Lahn said the governor’s job is one he is “here for 100%.” He didn’t say where he would live or how much time he would spend in Kansas. He said he travels “for business” and “for family,” and that “I have a blended family and they split time.”
“This is not about why you’re in Kansas,” Sand said. “This is about the fact that you’re not in Iowa.”
Should Iowa raise the minimum wage?
A moderator asked Lahn whether he would consider raising Iowa’s minimum wage, which hasn’t increased since 2009. Lahn said “let’s go deep” and talked about industry consolidation: the three companies who control 85% of seed and fertilizer sales.
Sand said he supports a minimum wage increase, though he noted it would take action from the Legislature. He has previously proposed a $12 minimum wage phased in over time.
Are we adequately funding Iowa public schools?
Lawmakers approved a 2% increase of state funding for public schools this year. Sand said if he was governor, he would want an additional 5% increase in his first year and would add oversight and an income limit to the state’s private school voucher program.
Lahn said money isn’t the main problem. He argued per-pupil spending has risen 50% since 1992 after inflation while Iowa’s ranking fell, according to US News and World Report’s ranking. He called for “innovation zones” in public schools and added that he supports third-party audits of the voucher program.
Sand said a man in Dubuque told him his son now teaches across the river in Illinois for a salary that’s about $16,000 more a year. Lahn also called teachers leaving the profession early “unacceptable.” Both candidates say Iowa is losing teachers. They disagree on whether more money would help keep them.
