Lahn, Sand clash over taxes, budget in second debate

Lahn, Sand clash over taxes, budget in second debate Lahn, Sand clash over taxes, budget in second debate Sophia Glenn, Reporter October 15, 2026 August Anderson Left: 2026 Democratic candidate for Iowa Governor Rob Sand speaks on issues pertinent to Iowans at his Story County town hall at Iowa State University Memorial Union in Ames, Iowa, Sept. 21, 2026. Right: Republican candidate for Governor Zach Lahn speaks with members of the media during his town hall at the Story County Community Building in Nevada, Iowa, Oct. 7, 2026. SIOUX CITY — Iowa’s budget, tax breaks for data centers and the future of property taxes took center stage as Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn and Democratic candidate Rob Sand faced off in their second debate Wednesday. The candidates offered different approaches to the state’s financial challenges, with Lahn emphasizing tax relief and government efficiency while Sand questioned whether recent tax cuts have left Iowa facing an ongoing budget deficit. Both candidates also criticized tax incentives for data centers, raising questions about how the state should balance economic development with taxpayer costs. Beyond taxes and state spending, the debate addressed immigration and workforce development, school lunches, water quality and government transparency. The candidates outlined their priorities for Iowa, highlighting both areas of agreement and differences in how they would address issues facing the state. Opening statements “I got to say it is good to be back in Sioux City,” Lahn said. “I grew up here. I actually grew up watching KTIV. Matt [Breen], I remember wondering if you were going to call a snow day for my school, and when you didn’t, I was a bit upset. I still have a bone to pick there. I was born and raised right here in Sioux City. My dad was a pastor here, and I graduated from high school here. My sister and brother-in-law live here today along with Grandma. I think this campaign for us has been about the culture and protecting Iowa families. Today you are going to hear different views, but both are from people who I believe care for the state of Iowa. I believe that your views are conservative. I believe that you have worked hard for what you’ve earned and need to keep more of it. I believe that God doesn’t make mistakes; that he designed us, men and women. I believe that illegal means illegal. I believe that my opponent disagrees with me on these things, but that is what debates are for, that’s what we are here for: to talk about the issues that face our state.”  “Folks, Rob Sand, born and raised in Decorah up in Northeast Iowa, grew up there hunting, fishing, and going to church; still do all those things today,” Sand said. “I spent 7 years as the chief public corruption prosecutor in the Attorney General’s office and prosecuted quite a bit of violent crime in that time and sent quite a bit of gentlemen to the civil commitment unit in Cherokee, some of the worst offenders in the state of Iowa. Prosecuted murders, you name it; prosecuted Democrats and Republicans. In two terms as the state auditor, we built a senior leadership team that included an independent and a Republican and uncovered a record amount of misspent money. What happened next is that they made it harder for us to find your misspent money. I’ve been focused on corruption for my career, focused on your pocketbook issues, making sure that your tax dollars are used wisely, and I think that when they are making it harder for the state auditor to find misspent money it is time to change.” Putting away personal attacks  Soon after the introductions, the moderators read a question from a viewer. “During this debate, will you pledge to put away the personal attacks and concentrate on your proposals to resolve issues which are affecting the quality of life for Iowa citizens?” George, a viewer who submitted the question to KTIV, said.  Both candidates primarily agreed to focus on the issues. “I think that number one, yes, we can focus on the issues, but I think that it is also important to focus on where we differ on the issues, and voters need to understand that,” Lahn said. “Also yes, if it keeps coming my way at a certain point I’ll quit turning the other cheek, but I won’t be the one to start it,” Sand said. Deficits Gray Media Iowa Political Director Dave Price asked Sand whether legalizing recreational marijuana and ending data center tax breaks would generate enough revenue to balance the state budget amid ongoing deficits following Republican-led tax cuts. Sand explained how these two items will not be enough to balance the budget but also touched on data centers and their taxes. “[Data centers] shouldn’t be getting tax breaks,” Sand said. “I think that’s wrong. I think the tax breaks that have been given to them are wrong, and they should be paying every penny that they need.” Later, Sand went on to speak about Iowa’s $1.3 to $1.4 billion deficit out of the approximately $9.5 billion budget. “We’ve been seeing this happen year after year, and the projections for growth in Iowa have not been met,” Sand said. “So that sort of optimistic idea, that it was going to take care of itself, is not happening. This is a problem, a real problem.” Considering cannabis Sand explained his belief in the legalization of cannabis and his vision for it making a positive impact on Iowa’s budget.  “If we tax cannabis like alcohol and treat it the way we treat alcohol, that would be a positive move for the state’s budget,” Sand said. “I also think it would be a positive move for law enforcement, taking some of the burden off their backs.”  Referring to conversations he has had with police officers, Sand mentioned how they prefer people using cannabis over alcohol. He did mention how they are both dangerous drugs, but refrained from putting people behind bars for using them. H-1B visas Price asked Lahn about his opposition to H-1B visas in connection with a proposed steel mill and his goal of prioritizing jobs for Iowa residents. “In public universities and institutions and only in that setting, yes,” Lahn said. “If immigration is a federal issue, where we have a lever is in public universities and institutions, which I believe those jobs should be for Iowa kids.” Price continued on by asking about the proposed steel mill and how to get people to work there.  “I believe the self-respecting state in a self-respecting country is a country that is going to invest in its people,” Lahn said. “We need to be investing in the citizens that are within our state and within our country.” Sand was asked whether he supported ending H-1B visas for universities.  “At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we have professionals in the state of Iowa to do what we need done for Iowans,” Sand said. “I think we need to make sure that we’re not closing the door on people who want to be here. I am proud of this state, and I think we should have more confidence in ourselves.”  Eliminating some property tax Price questioned whether Lahn could eliminate the state’s personal income tax by cutting government waste and improving efficiency, given that the tax generates about $983 million in revenue. “I would say first we use all three taxing authorities right now: property, sales and income,” Lahn said. “If I had the ability to eliminate one of these, [it] would be to make Iowa the very first state in the country to eliminate property taxes on primary residences, single-family homes.”  Lahn went on to talk about how he also believes transparency is important in government.  Sand added a quick input on this when discussing waste, which was briefly brought up.  “A lot of times the divide is more about public service versus politicians than it is about Democrats versus Republicans,” Sand said. Education: Iowa-made school lunches and water quality  Justin Rust, managing editor for the Northwest Iowa Review, asked Lahn what changes would be needed to meet federal guidelines for his goal of sourcing 80% of food served in Iowa school lunches from local producers. “First, I love when I find something that somebody tells me that is going to be very difficult to do because it makes me think that this is something that we really need to do,” Lahn said. “We’re moving from the system where the big guys are there to provide all of the food, and they’re actually getting subsidies from the federal government, to one where the little guys in Iowa could be benefiting greatly.”  Lahn discussed USDA regulations for the school food program and his goal of sourcing 80% of food served in public schools from Iowa family farms, acknowledging that achieving the goal would take time but emphasizing that “we have to have a big goal.” Sand added to the discussion, focusing on water quality by mentioning the Working Lands program. “The main idea is that you’re helping farmers take stuff that they’re currently row cropping, but it’s highly erodible,” Sand said. “So it might be really steep land, but we might be right next to a river, and it can help you convert that into grazing land.” Sand also mentioned the reduction in nitrogen runoff when converting to grazing field. “If you do that and increase funding for the Working Lands Program, you could do a lot to help improve what we are eating in local regional food systems that helps more beginning farmers get on a loan,” Sand said. Data centers  Both candidates really emphasized how they want data centers to pay all taxes and have no breaks. “The number one thing with data centers is that we need to be negotiating properly,” Lahn said. I believe the state has a role to play to make sure they’re setting the rules of the game, and I believe that if we do that as a state, what we can do is say no tax incentives whatsoever.”  Sand added to his thoughts earlier on the matter.  “Something that I just think is absolutely unacceptable, and local entities should not be allowed to have local elected officials who are supposed to be representing the public actually sign an NDA agreement, or they can’t tell the public that they represent who it is that’s coming in or what they’re going to build or anything like that,” Sand said. “That to me is just totally contrary to the spirit of public service.” Closing “There’s a tremendous amount at stake in this election,” Lahn said. “We all can see this affects the country. There are things that we need to do to end many of these long-term systemic issues that we’ve been facing as a state to keep our kids in the state, save our families, make public education number one in the nation again, and stop this cancer crisis in our state. That is the reason I got into this race. I was the outsider and underdog from the beginning, and I did this not because I wanted to be a politician; what I want to do is advocate on behalf of the people and give them a voice to make sure that the people on the ground feel like they have a voice they can go against these special interests, these corporate giants, lobbyists, and career politicians who for far too long have had far too much control at every single level of government, and that’s exactly why I decided to run for this seat.”  “Folks, I’m glad I had the chance to talk about one of the things that is a real passion for me, and that is making our political system work better for ordinary people,” Sand said. “When I spent seven years as a public corruption prosecutor, I saw how, too often, people in positions of power and trust were willing to abuse it to further their own ends. In two terms, the state auditor saw the same thing we ran the office with people who think differently from each other, working together, and yet after uncovering a record of autonomously spent money, they made it hard for us to do our jobs. I’m tired of this, and it’s time to get back to that Iowa tradition. I want to put checks and balances on politicians; it’s time to put more regulations on politicians.” To learn more about the candidates, visit their respective webpages: Rob Sand and Zach Lahn. 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Tags: debate gubernatorial rob sand Zach Lahn Donate to Iowa State Daily $6,633 $10,000 Contributed Our Goal Your donation will support the student journalists of the Iowa State Daily. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, send our student journalists to conferences and off-set their cost of living so they can continue to do best-in-the-nation work at the Iowa State Daily. For donation amounts over $500, please contact [email protected] or send a check to 612 Farmhouse Ln., Ames IA 50011. Donate More to Discover More in News / Politics And Administration Turek and Hinson debate healthcare, tariffs and diesel StuGov discusses required six-credit civics course Early voting begins today Raising awareness for sexual assault victims: Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Inside Iowa State’s Flock camera network: privacy, alerts and audits ‘No light or souls detected’: StuGov Senator resigns More in News / Politics And Administration / State Meet the gubernatorial candidate: Adam Steen Meet the gubernatorial candidate: U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra Feenstra reintroduces bill to reauthorize $40 million Genome to Phenome Initiative Tuition increases on the table for upcoming regents meeting Federal financial aid on 13-year national decrease, one-year Iowa increase 6.5% increase for residence hall rates approved About the Contributors Sophia Glenn, Reporter Sophia Glenn is a second year honors student at ISU majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish. Sophia is a Politics Reporter and has been writing for the Daily since October 2026. She loves all types of writing, whether it is creative writing or reporting. She also enjoys reading, running and hiking. August Anderson, Visuals Editor August Anderson is in his junior year at Iowa State University, majoring in mass communications and journalism with a focus in photojournalism. This is his third academic year with the Iowa State Daily, and first as the Visuals Editor, serving as a photojournalist for two years prior. He specializes in coverage of political events, arts and culture, and breaking news.