Sand also declines Biden, Harris campaign help in Iowa race
Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor in Iowa, told Politico that Kamala Harris should not run for president again, breaking with prominent national Democrats who have so far avoided answering the question. Asked whether Harris should mount another White House bid, Sand replied, “No.”
In remarks reported by Politico columnist Jonathan Martin, Sand also said he would not want former President Joe Biden or Harris to campaign for him in Iowa, where he will need to win over independent and Republican voters to win in November. Asked about Biden, Sand said, “Can he even do that right now?” Asked about Harris, he said simply, “No thanks.”
“We need some new leadership,” Sand added.
Sand, who is leaving his post as Iowa’s state auditor to run for governor, framed his answer around the needs of his own race. “You’re asking a guy who was a registered independent first,” he told Politico. “I don’t tend to like the party politics stuff. I think that we have a fundamentally broken two-choice political system.” He is facing Republican Zach Lahn in the general election.
Other state-level Democrats in competitive races have moved in a similar direction. Mary Peltola, a Democrat seeking a U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, publicly rejected Harris’s support after the former vice president sent a fundraising email on Peltola’s behalf that appeared to be unsolicited. Peltola’s campaign said she “isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 – her focus is and always will be Alaska.” The two cases suggest that Democrats running in states Trump won comfortably are weighing how closely to associate themselves with the 2024 ticket.
Harris, the former vice president who lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, has not said whether she would seek another run for the presidency. Prominent Democrats who have been pressed on the question have typically responded that the decision is Harris’s alone or that the 2028 presidential field is too far away to assess.
Sand was blunt on his own political future as well, giving a flat “no” when asked whether he would one day run for president or be open to being chosen as a vice-presidential candidate.
As MSI previously reported, Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are widely expected to compete for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, with early primary polls showing both holding top positions in the field of potential candidates. Harris and Newsom weigh potential 2028 presidential showdown