2026 results · Iowa · Iowa Governor
Rob Sand, the Democrat, flips Iowa's governorship
Donald Trump carried Iowa by 13.3 points in 2024; this year's count is a 24.2-point move toward the Democrats. The Republicans held it before the election.
| Candidate | Votes | Share | Share of the vote |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rob SandDemocrat | 757,326 | 55.4% | |
 Zach LahnRepublican | 607,415 | 44.5% | |
| Write-in | 1,775 | 0.1% |
Called by Call the Map, Nov 3, 10:26 PM EST · 97% counted.
About 97% of the expected vote counted1,366,516 votesCount last changed Nov 7, 6:28 PM ESTSource: Iowa Secretary of State
The map
Loading the map.
What moved most
Scroll through Iowa, part by part. The parts follow the federal government’s metropolitan areas: each big metro’s core counties, its suburbs and outer suburbs, the smaller metro areas, then the small towns and countryside.
What the count shows
Added together, the 99 counties compared moved 24.2 points toward the Democrats from the 2024 presidential vote.
The counties compared cast 82% as many votes as in 2024, from 89% in Dallas County to 71% in Fremont County. Turnout and the move from 2024 were barely related.
Wapello County moved most: R+31.5 for president in 2024, Even this year
The 10 counties with the largest moves from the 2024 presidential vote, among those with 2,000 or more votes for president in 2024 and a quarter of that counted, and at least half a percent of the state's 2024 vote. Each line runs from the 2024 margin to this year’s.
2024 president 2026
Polk County added 47,814 net votes for Sand against the 2024 margin, 13% of the statewide change
Across the 99 counties compared, the margin moved by 369,652 votes toward Sand: this year’s lead in votes against the 2024 presidential lead in votes, county by county. The figure counts voters who changed sides and differences in who turned out alike; the count cannot tell them apart.
- Polk County+47,814 Sand
- Linn County+21,368 Sand
- Scott County+15,751 Sand
- Dallas County+13,580 Sand
- Black Hawk County+13,402 Sand
- Woodbury County+10,562 Sand
- Johnson County+10,329 Sand
- Dubuque County+10,214 Sand
20 counties Donald Trump carried in 2024 are led by Sand this year
Striped on the map above. Largest first.
- Scott CountyR+3.9D+16.6
- Dallas CountyR+4.7D+18.9
- Dubuque CountyR+8.6D+13.0
- Woodbury CountyR+23.0D+2.2
- Warren CountyR+20.7D+5.7
- Cerro Gordo CountyR+11.6D+5.7
- Clinton CountyR+18.9D+4.6
- Jasper CountyR+27.6D+0.2
- Muscatine CountyR+14.9D+12.3
- Des Moines CountyR+15.0D+8.0
- Marshall CountyR+15.6D+13.2
- Boone CountyR+21.5D+6.4
- Bremer CountyR+22.2D+2.8
- Lee CountyR+27.8D+0.2
- Winneshiek CountyR+9.3D+17.9
- Cedar CountyR+21.8D+2.8
- Buchanan CountyR+28.2D+2.9
- Poweshiek CountyR+17.0D+7.3
- Tama CountyR+26.9D+1.2
- Jefferson CountyR+6.8D+14.1
How the vote came in
Sand did best among absentee ballots (D+31.0) and Lahn among Election Day votes(R+0.1).
- Election Day880,545 votes, 64% of the countR+0.1
- Absentee485,971 votes, 36% of the countD+31.0
The office’s own categories, as it reports them. Margins are within each kind of vote.
What the places that moved have in common
Each of Iowa’s counties, set against the Census Bureau’s figures for who lives there. A pattern across counties, not an exit poll: it does not say how any group of people voted.
Urban, suburban and rural counties
2024 president 2026 · Urban: 1,000 or more residents per square mile; suburban: 100 to 999; rural: under 100 (our grouping).
Census Bureau ACS 2019–2023 and 2023 Gazetteer; a county joins once its count is substantially in.
The seats that changed party
StatewideDemocrats won 3 of Iowa's 6 statewide races and lead 1 more; Republicans won 1 and lead 1 more.
U.S. HouseBefore the election R 4–0, now D 3–1
won leads, still counting changed party. Margins are the leader’s share minus the runner-up’s, in points.
Every count on this page is the official count published by the Iowa Secretary of State. Counts are unofficial until the state certifies them. The 2024 comparison is the presidential vote, Kamala Harris against Donald Trump, on the same ground. Margins are the Democrat minus the Republican, in points of all votes. Photos: Rob Sand, campaign photo by Rob Sand for Governor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped, background removed; Zach Lahn, by Aunger67, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped, background removed.
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