Iowa's Democratic gubernatorial candidate flatly rejected the idea of Joe Biden or Kamala Harris campaigning for him, a sign that the party's own candidates see its recent national leaders as liabilities heading into 2026.
Rob Sand, Iowa's auditor of state and the Democratic nominee for governor, delivered a string of blunt one-word answers when Politico's Jonathan Martin asked whether he would welcome either Biden or Harris to the Hawkeye State. Asked about Biden, Sand didn't hesitate.
"No. Can he even do that right now? I'm sorry."
Martin then asked about Harris. Sand was just as direct, Fox News Digital reported.
"No thanks."
Sand followed up: "Let's move on. We need some new leadership." When Martin pressed further, "You don't think Harris should run in 2028?", Sand offered a single word: "Nope."
Sand's comments would be notable on their own. But he isn't alone. Josh Turek, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa who carries a Barack Obama endorsement, gave the same answer when reporters asked whether Harris should campaign for him.
"No."
Turek made the remarks to reporters in Cedar Rapids. Two statewide Democratic candidates in the same cycle, both refusing to associate themselves with the woman who led their party's 2024 ticket, that is not a messaging hiccup. It is a pattern.
Harris lost the 2024 general election to Donald Trump after Biden dropped his re-election bid following a widely-panned debate performance and endorsed her. Iowa was part of Trump's sweep; he has said he won the state in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Democrats running statewide in Iowa know those numbers, and they are acting accordingly.
Yet Harris has not closed the door on another run. When Al Sharpton asked her in April whether she would seek the presidency again in 2028, Harris replied, "I might," and indicated she was thinking about it. That answer may play well with the party's national donor class. It clearly does not play well with the Democrats who have to put their names on Iowa ballots.
Sand faces Republican nominee Zach Lahn in the race to replace Gov. Kim Reynolds, who announced she would not seek re-election. Trump endorsed Lahn in a Truth Social post, calling him an "America First Patriot" and a "tremendous Candidate."
"It is my Great Honor to endorse America First Patriot, Zach Lahn, a tremendous Candidate running to be the next Governor of the Wonderful State of Iowa, a place I love and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024!"
A presidential endorsement in a state Trump has carried three consecutive times gives Lahn a built-in advantage. Sand's only realistic path runs through persuading voters who pulled the lever for Trump but might consider a different direction at the state level. Bringing in Biden or Harris would collapse that lane before it opens.
Sand's calculation is obvious, and it is brutal for national Democrats. The two most prominent figures from the party's last administration are so unpopular in a battleground-adjacent state that their own nominees treat an association with them like a political liability, not quietly, behind closed doors, but on camera, in a recorded interview.
Both Sand and Turek are trying to run localized campaigns. Sand has been making stops across rural Iowa, including a campaign visit to the Carroll County Conservation Classroom in Carroll. Turek has been working Cedar Rapids. The strategy is clear: keep the focus on Iowa, keep Washington at arm's length, and hope voters judge them on their own terms rather than the national brand.
The disconnect between Harris's national ambitions and her standing with candidates on the ground tells a story the Democratic Party has not yet reckoned with. She lost a general election that many in her party believed was winnable. Now she is publicly entertaining another run, and the candidates who would need her coattails are publicly refusing them.
Sand did not dress his answer up. He did not offer the standard political dodge about scheduling conflicts or focusing on local issues. He said "No thanks" and told the interviewer to move on. Turek matched him word for word. That kind of coordinated bluntness from two statewide candidates does not happen by accident. It happens when the political math is unforgiving.
When your own team's candidates treat you like a campaign trail liability, the party doesn't have a messaging problem, it has a leadership vacuum no one in charge wants to admit exists.
