Rob Sand

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Nothing is more important than keeping our kids safe, especially online. I supported the efforts to ban cellphones in the classroom, but we need to go further. As governor, I’ll work on implementing the following policies to keep our kids safe and hold Big Tech companies accountable who profit at the expense of our children’s health and safety.

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Legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis like alcohol: Right now, alcohol is regulated under the Alcoholic Beverages Division. As governor, Rob would add cannabis experts to the already-existing division to be charged with regulating the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of cannabis. These experts would implement age restrictions, quality and safety standards, and taxation similar to how alcohol is regulated in the state.

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Support Iowa farmers: Legalizing cannabis in Iowa would open up an additional revenue stream for Iowa farmers and the agriculture sector – the backbone of Iowa’s economy. As governor, Rob would prioritize the issue of grow licenses for small and mid-size family farms to help support them and manage the amount of initial licenses being issued across the state.

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Requiring mandatory prison sentences for taxpayer abusers and thieves: This is a no-brainer. I’ve introduced this policy every year as State Auditor since I took office, yet government insiders have refused to take action on this common-sense proposal. Makes you wonder why. Thieves who steal Iowans’ hard-earned tax dollars should get more than a slap on the wrist, which is far too often what happens. The punishment must be severe enough to deter people from committing these crimes in the first place. I support mandatory prison time for anyone found guilty of stealing over $10,000 in taxpayer dollars, banning anyone convicted of fraud from doing business with the state, and stripping them of taxpayer-funded benefits like retirement and health care.

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Reverse the prohibition of sales of consumable hemp products: In 2024, Gov. Reynolds signed HF 2605 into law, despite the harm and confusion it caused small businesses across the state. We should reverse that law to allow sales of hemp and THC beverage products while ensuring oversight and regulation over those products by hemp producers selling their products through cannabis retailers.

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Restoring the full powers of the Auditor’s Office: After we uncovered a record amount of misspent tax dollars in my first term as State Auditor, government insiders passed a bill – which Governor Reynolds signed – allowing government agencies to hide key documents from the Auditor’s Office, making it harder to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars. You can’t imagine a clearer line drawn between who is working for Iowans and who is working for insiders than that. No matter who becomes Iowa’s next State Auditor, Republican or Democrat, the full powers of Iowa’s taxpayer watchdog should be restored to best protect Iowa’s tax dollars.

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No immunity for chemical companies sickening Iowans: Insiders have been pushing a bill that would give immunity to companies that are sickening Iowans. Chemical companies have spent decades buying influence with government insiders, while a foundational study upon which the claim of safety was recently retracted for being influenced by the same company that makes the chemicals. We need to protect Iowans’ health by letting the courts and juries, not politicians, decide whether chemical companies need to pay for the pesticides that pollute our air and water.

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Strengthen whistleblower protections: We need to support and protect those who are brave enough to come forward to call out powerful insiders without fear of retaliation. Currently, Iowa only offers whistleblower protections for state employees. As governor, I’d extend those protections to allow every Iowan to feel empowered to come forward with evidence of wrongdoing or abuses of power.

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Establishing a clear licensing process: Task the division with licensing cannabis growers, manufacturers, retailers, and safety testing labs who will be the only businesses in Iowa permitted to produce, transport, and sell regulated cannabis products. Ensure that only safe, quality, and state-compliant products are being sold.

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Invest in – not defund – water quality monitors: While our current elected officials deny a water quality issue, Iowans are facing the very real consequences of the defunding of water quality monitors across the state. They would rather keep Iowans’ heads in the sand than address water quality issues. It’s mind-boggling. Iowans should know what’s in their water. We need to increase funding for aggressive water quality monitoring and farmer-led water quality programs.

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Limiting total THC content: Product limitations will include a maximum of 10mg of THC per serving and a maximum of 100mg of THC per package, similar to limitations in neighboring states.

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Invest in radon testing: Iowa is the number one state for radon levels, and we have the highest rate for lung cancer in the country. Radon testing is cheap, and we can’t afford to continue to do nothing. Home sale contracts should require a radon warning and information about how to test for radon, and home inspectors should be required to mention Iowa’s high radon levels and ask the potential buyer if they want to have a test done. The state can facilitate the training of more individuals to become radon mitigation professionals since the good ones we do have will be overbooked if they aren’t already. This is all a heck of a lot cheaper than treating cancer.

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Requiring annual audits of the private school voucher program to ensure that the money is spent responsibly.

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Restricting purchases by age: Require retailers to restrict purchase of cannabis products to adults 21 and over, like with alcohol sales. Selling cannabis products to minors is illegal.

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Implement transparent manure management plans: We need to trust, but verify, that manure is being handled appropriately according to the plans that producers already submit to the state. Right now, these documents are treated as non-public information, and are not easily accessible. We should change that. Manure management plans and their implementation should be available to every Iowan to allow us to not only see how, when, and where the manure is spread on Iowa farmland. A single, free, online form will replace handwritten records. It isn’t any more work for growers and producers – it just means we all can see what the plans are, to help steer in the right direction anyone tempted to forget them.

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Create jobs: Legalizing adult-use cannabis would create new opportunities for small business owners in Iowa. Using data from other states with legal adult-use cannabis, it’s estimated to create around 7,000 jobs.

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Invest in digester technology: Right now, any manure decomposing freely releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and nitrates from a form that is hard to predict due to weather, and hard to haul. Digesters control that breakdown in a controlled environment, capturing methane to be sold to renewable natural gas companies and turning nitrate into a different form, still for use as fertilizer but less likely to wash into rivers and streams. If you’ve heard of a closed-loop system that reuses materials, this is a pretty good one. Funding these efforts could help improve water quality, create jobs, including in the trucking industry, and bring more money to farmers. This is particularly timely with ongoing disruptions to the foreign fertilizer market, leaving our farmers in limbo ahead of planting. Digesters gives us a domestic source for fertilizer, lowering costs for farmers while tackling the water quality crisis head-on.

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Enforcing term limits: Iowa is one of only a handful of states that doesn’t have term limits in place for elected officials. Public service is a noble calling and we want to elect people with good experience, but too many years in power can lead to complacency, inefficiency, and even corruption. We need term limits to prevent career politicians who have no desire to actually solve any of our problems from holding indefinite positions of power. I support limiting statewide elected officeholders to no more than 3 terms in any statewide office, and state legislators to no more than 12 years in the legislature. Plus, no more than a total of 20 years maximum overall in any state office.

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Expand and improve current conservation programs by offering tax credits for farmers: Very important to note: there are farmers who have been on waitlists for years to get into conservation programs. These programs run out of support from politicians long before they run out of farmers who want to participate. Farmers know we can do better, and want to do better. They are an ally in getting clean water – it’s the politicians who are blocking progress. We need to build on current conservation efforts and ensure farmers who want to participate have the resources they need to do so. Ninety percent of farm income goes to the biggest 10% of farms. A way we can do that is by expanding and improving Iowa’s current conservation programs, and also creating tax credits for farmers to help offset the costs of conservation programs they already want to participate in. That includes an income tax credit to help cover the costs of conservation practices, and a property tax credit per acre for farms using approved nutrient plans.

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Enforcing age limits: Iowans and Americans are ready for a new generation of leadership. Our Constitution has minimum ages for different offices for good reasons, and we should have similar guardrails. I support enforcing age limits for our elected officials and judges in line with the standards set for the Iowa state Supreme Court. At 78-years-old, we thank them for their service, wish them a happy retirement, and clear the way for the next generation to serve. I have been on the record in support of mandating age limits far before the trust had been broken by elected officials who put their own careers ahead of what’s best for the people they represent, and enforcing age limits can help rebuild that trust.

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Establish a dirty water notification system: We need cleaner water in Iowa, but we also need quicker awareness of dirty water issues. Parents – myself included – never want to pick between a fun summer afternoon or risking our children’s health and safety. I grew up fishing in Decorah with my dad, and I’ve loved passing down that tradition to my own two boys, but I don’t want to second guess every body of water we enter every summer. To help mitigate that, I propose implementing a notification system to alert residents when drinking nitrate levels approach, hit, or exceed 10 mg/l. Same for swimming waters with E. Coli. The system would alert Iowans across multiple platforms through SMS, robocalls, and public press releases to ensure Iowans are equipped with the most up to date information on the safety of our drinking water, and our beaches and recreational waterways.

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Require annual public town halls for officeholders: If you want a job in public service, you have to be willing to meet Iowans where they are – in their communities. As governor, I would propose a requirement for all statewide elected officials and legislators to complete annual public town halls. You don’t have to do 100 every year like I do (would be cool if you did though) but my proposal would require 20 per year for statewide elected officials and 5 for state legislators in their districts. Each town hall would require at least two weeks’ notice, be posted publicly either online or in print, must be free to attend and open to members of the press, and half the time must be devoted to answering non-scripted and non-preselected questions. I support enforcing this through ballot access – if you don’t fulfill this responsibility throughout your term, you can’t get on the ballot. Think of it as an annual performance review: if you can’t face the people you represent, you have no business being in public service.

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Increase wetlands for health and habitat: One thing cleans our water very effectively and gives us opportunities to enjoy the outdoors by hunting, fishing, and floating: wetlands. They are the single most effective thing for filtering pollutants out of our water. And with Iowa ranked 49th in the country for public lands, we could use a few more spots for fun and recreation across the state. Iowa can work with Water Management Associations and Soil Conservation Districts to determine where and develop plans to finance projects. We should do a reverse-auction, inviting Iowa landowners who have a wet spot to offer it to the state; the state can then prioritize where to buy first to have the biggest immediate impacts on water quality. We also need to expand the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Project, which helps farmers turn less desirable crop lands into pastures for cattle grazing to keep the land productive and help with water quality by preventing pollutants from reaching our waterways from the start.

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Give independent voters an equal voice in our democracy and end the two-choice system: Iowa’s current election system forces you to join a private club in order to exercise your constitutional right to vote, disenfranchising independent voters. That’s wrong, undemocratic, and should be brought to an end. We need to eliminate the two-choice system that pits neighbor against neighbor and forces Iowans to choose the lesser of two evils. It enables corruption. The last decade of one-party control has landed Iowa in a bad spot, but if you think the solution to that is giving the other party a decade of that same power, I invite you to visit California or New York. We should have a single public primary for candidates of all political parties or none at all, from which up to four candidates advance to the general election. In the general elections, Iowans can use approval voting: vote for as many of the candidates have earned your support and whoever has the most support, wins. Candidates will have an incentive to be more civil and more honest. Balance can help unite Iowans, repair our broken political system, and solve some of our state’s toughest challenges.

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Crack down on PBMs: We need to ensure Iowans can use the pharmacy of their choice by cracking down on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that force patients to use only certain pharmacies through backroom deals.

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Expand tele-health services: Iowans in our rural communities often live several miles away from the nearest hospital or clinic, putting care out of reach. We should increase access to tele-health services by expanding insurance coverage for health care offered via telehealth at the same rate as in-person care for all care, and require audio services be covered as well. We also need to improve high-speed internet access – not through the decades-old failures to lay more fiber, but with assistance in paying for satellite internet.

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Reject culture wars, improve maternal health, and protect Iowa jobs: Communities across Iowa are being left without access to essential care, including labor and delivery units, putting the lives of expecting mothers and their unborn children at risk and forcing health care workers out of our state. As government insiders and my opponents promise further culture wars and restrictions on fundamental freedoms, I would veto any culture war bills that cross my desk that further attacks on providers, make Iowa a less welcoming place to live, and threaten access to surrogacy, contraception, and IVF.

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As Governor, Rob will get Iowa back on track – he’ll build consensus to get the state government out of the culture wars and focused on lowering costs, growing the economy, improving our education system, and helping Iowans live better, healthier lives.

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As State Auditor, Rob has uncovered a record amount of waste, fraud, and abuse. The insiders in Des Moines responded to Rob’s success by stripping the Auditor’s ability to find misspent tax dollars. As Governor, Rob will work to restore the taxpayer’s watchdog and to prevent your hard-earned money from being wasted. Rob’s office has also uncovered a shockingly high amount of illegal denials of care under Iowa’s Medicaid privatization executive order – which result in higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs for you and your family. As Governor, Rob will reverse the privatization of Medicaid the same way it was passed – by an executive order.

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As State Auditor, Rob instituted Statewide Work, Statewide Jobs, a program that cuts bureaucratic red tape and allows employees in his office to live anywhere in the state of Iowa, instead of forcing them to live in urban areas like Des Moines, Ames, or Iowa City, which are already growing and prosperous. As Governor, Rob has pledged to enact a similar program for state employees who can do their work anywhere in Iowa. This program would help revitalize small towns and rural communities who’ve seen jobs and opportunities disappear. Rob also eliminated the 4-year degree requirement to work in the Auditor’s office.

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It’s time to restore the slogan on Iowa’s quarter: “foundation in education.” New investments and initiatives, like universal all day pre-K, are needed to give our students the edge they need to compete for good paying jobs. Iowa’s private school voucher program takes resources away from public schools, and has no accountability for how that money is being spent. We can pay for universal pre-K by no longer sending our taxpayer dollars to Iowa’s wealthiest families to pay for the private school tuition they were going to pay on their own anyway. As Governor, Rob will fight to bring more oversight over the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent each year on vouchers.

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Rob is among the only candidates who will say the obvious: neither the Democrats nor the Republicans solve enough problems to earn their shared monopoly on our choices at the ballot box. If voters have more options that can win, we can break their stranglehold and make sure elected officials have to do more than just wear the right color hat to get reelected. Rob supports having a public primary where all eligible voters can participate, which would finally make independent voters equal in our state. From that, the top 4 candidates can advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. In the general election, candidates will be encouraged to be civil and honest by using Approval Voting, where each voter can vote for as many of the four candidates as they approve of. The candidate with the most votes wins, as usual. How will a candidate earn approval from voters who most strongly prefer one of their opponents? By being kind, honest, and civil with their opponents, and by working to actually solve problems for those voters instead of dividing us.

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Banning stock trading so politicians can’t use insider information to benefit and enrich themselves: Government insiders – like members of Congress, state legislators, and statewide elected officials like the Governor – have access to inside information about key industries and companies. Elected officials in these roles should not be permitted to trade stocks, plain and simple. I support banning stock trading at the federal level so politicians can’t use inside information to benefit and enrich themselves, and I will also call for Iowa to do it at the state level. As governor, I’ll call to reform our financial disclosure laws to bring more transparency to potential conflicts of interest by statewide elected officials and legislators, including requiring all candidates for office to file personal financial disclosures listing all individual stocks and financial holdings.

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Reporting quarterly earnings per financial holding; and providing updated reports for any changes.

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Officials would also be required to put stock holdings in blind trusts until they are no longer in their positions of power.

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Violations of these laws would result in mandatory prison time, not a slap on the wrist or a sternly-worded letter from a toothless agency.

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Limiting tuition increases so that the schools can’t just hike costs and become as unaffordable as they were before.

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Implementing income limits so that the money is going to students and families who need it the most – not to the wealthiest Iowans who were sending their kids to private schools anyway.

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Ending sweetheart deals for companies like Odyssey, which manages the school voucher program and more than doubled its rate less than a month after signing their no-bid contract, costing taxpayers an additional $2.7 million. Government insiders are trying to lock in those deals for years to come, regardless of who is elected in November. That’s wrong.

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Requiring elected officials to take cognitive tests: Over the last several years, self-interested politicians have eroded voters’ trust by putting their careers ahead of what’s best for the people they represent. Requiring cognitive tests is a step toward rebuilding that trust and ensuring our elected leaders are up for the job. Candidates should be required to submit a letter from their doctor attesting to their mental and physical fitness in order to appear on the ballot. I’ve been calling for implementing cognitive tests for years. It’s time to get it done.

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Requiring elected officials to take a civics test: I think it’s good that high schoolers now have to pass a citizenship test to graduate. Certainly, our statewide elected officials and state legislators should have to pass one to serve in positions of trust and power. They can take it when they turn in their signatures to get on the ballot.

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Iowa is facing a budget crisis to the tune of $1.4 billion. A common-sense way to help address that would be to fully legalize adult-use cannabis in Iowa.

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Regulating cannabis product packaging: Packaging must meet child-resistant packaging standards and cannot have any images that may appeal to children such as candy, baked goods, cartoons, or animals. Packaging must mention potential risks associated with cannabis use, a listing of noncannabis ingredients, and an itemization of all cannabinoid and terpene ingredients specified for the product. Products should not be similar to candy, like gummies.

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Limiting advertisements: Any cannabis business advertisements cannot be targeted toward minors and cannot display any use of cannabis.

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No public consumption: just as you can’t drink in public, you can’t smoke pot in public. Iowans shouldn’t have to smell it everywhere.

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Establish a Cabinet-level Cancer Task Force: Managed under the Department of Health and Human Services, this task force would lead the charge on implementing policies at the state and local level to combat the cancer crisis. The task force can work with experts to identify best practices and help tailor solutions to specific regions or communities across the state.

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Reverse the privatization of Medicaid: Privatizing Medicaid has been one of the most disastrous decisions in Iowa over the last decade. It prioritized profits over the health of Iowa families, reduced access to care for tens of thousands of Iowans, and has been an administrative nightmare. And illegal denial of coverage claims has increased 900% since the program was removed from public accountability. As governor, I’ll get started reversing the privatization of Medicaid on day one of my administration.

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Age Verification and Parental Consent: Puts the onus on the App Store and individual app creators to verify age of the app purchaser and require parental consent for those under the age of 18.

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Parent Account Affiliation & Verifiable Parental Consent: If someone under the age of 18 tries to make an app purchase, this requires the child’s account to be affiliated with that of the parent’s.

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Notifications for Significant Changes to Apps: Require the App Store to update the user on any significant changes to the app that would impact what a child would view, see, or do on that app.

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Additional Developer Requirements: Increase requirements for developers to verify age of users and ensure parental consent.

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Data Safeguards: Ensure the protection of data for users and share only pertinent age information with app developers.

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Require Independent Audits of Social Media Algorithms: No surprise here, the auditor is calling for more audits! Social media has created a whole new world that our current leaders were unprepared to oversee. For too long, Big Tech companies have been shielded from any sort of accountability or oversight. I’m calling for independent audits of social media companies to outline how their algorithms work so we can see if they are targeting children with addictive content and ensure safety standards are being met.

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Eliminate “Infinite Scroll” and Limit Screentime for Kids: Infinite scroll has been found to be addictive, compared to tobacco use. It needs to end. As governor, I would push for social media platforms to be barred from implementing “infinite scroll” on accounts of children under 16, and would require these platforms and app makers to give adults the option to opt out of infinite scroll. I also support efforts to limit screentime. Some tech companies already offer this, but all companies should have phones and other devices programmed with screentime-limiting functions built in. Our attention spans are at an all-time low because of the use of digital devices. We need to support policies to reign in how much time our kids spend online to help them stay focused and connected in the real world.

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Ban Surveillance Advertising and Increase Privacy: As governor, I’d call for a ban on surveillance advertising to anyone under the age of 18. Social media companies should not be surveilling and targeting kids based off of their personal data, search history, or political or religious beliefs. I also support increasing privacy measures, including prohibiting the sale of minors’ data and targeted advertising to minors.

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Increase Punishments for Online Predators: I spent seven years as a prosecutor, putting away some of the worst sexual predators and sexually violent criminals. Social media companies have made it too easy for sexual predators to prey on our kids online. As governor, I would support increasing punishments for online sexual predators who target our kids, including making sure our law enforcement officials have the training and resources they need to investigate these crimes; require social media platforms to use proactive detection and reporting to identify predators; and hold Big Tech companies accountable for any products that sexualize children.

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Default privacy settings: Minors’ accounts must be private by default, with geolocation off, adult-to-minor DM restrictions on, and high-privacy defaults for discovery and recommendations.

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Resources for Cyber Bullying: As governor, I’d work with the Department of Education and local districts to ensure that schools have policies in place that hold cyber bullies accountable and provide resources for victims of cyber bullying. We also need to do more to crack down on sexual extortion and AI deepfakes that put our kids in harm’s way in today’s digital world. I encourage our federal representatives to pass the James T. Woods Act, backed by Sen. Chuck Grassley, and to hold the Big Tech companies accountable for the harms they have knowingly caused and largely ignored, and will work on this at the state level as well.

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I’ve been hearing it on the road already on this year’s 100 Town Hall Tour at many stops: data centers. They’re popping up in our communities, threatening to raise energy and utility costs along the way. The surge of data centers moving in across our state requires further accountability and transparency, and our leaders must put Iowa taxpayers and ratepayers – not these huge corporations – first.

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Here’s the bottom line: as governor, I will make sure anyone building in Iowa is contributing to Iowa, not extracting from us. They should be paying full freight and carrying their own weight, not raising your costs for anything, and respecting those who were already here. If they accept those terms, then they can put downward pressure on your taxes and bring in good-paying jobs, both of which are wins for our state.

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Make them cover 100% of their own costs: As governor, I’d want a bill on my desk to make sure these data centers pay their own way, including covering any increase in costs on utilities so that your bills don’t go up one cent.

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End tax breaks for data centers: Right now, we face a nearly $1.4 billion budget deficit. We shouldn’t be handing out more tax breaks for major corporations at the expense of Iowa taxpayers. These data centers are also getting huge sales tax breaks on everything inside the data center. That’s millions of dollars in additional revenue down the drain for our state. As governor, I will end these tax breaks and make sure we’re putting the needs of Iowa taxpayers, not major corporations, first.

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Enact strong consumer protections: As governor, I’ll work to enact strong consumer protections to put Iowans first and require the companies that own the data centers pay 100% of the costs of any and all infrastructure upgrades, energy usage, and other costs. Right now, Iowa does not utilize Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), which ensures utilities pursue the lowest-cost option for consumers and provides oversight for utility energy decisions. As governor, I’d implement IRP to ensure utilities are accountable, customers (including data centers) only pay for what they need, and energy generation aligns with cost efficiency and sustainability.

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Stop data centers from eroding our natural resources and utilities: These data centers have planted their roots with no clear monitoring of how they use our water and energy. We need to measure it, make it transparent, and put Iowans first.

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Require investments in Iowa’s workforce: Good paying jobs are only good if they don’t increase costs or problems for other Iowans who are already here. As governor, I’d require new construction of data centers to be built by Iowa union workers that uphold job site quality standards, offer good wages for workers, and make investments in local workforce development.

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Require open public hearings and town halls on the creation of new data centers, and support local control: Similar to my call for requiring public town halls for elected officials, as governor I’d require listening sessions, public hearings, or town halls take place in communities impacted by new data centers. If Iowans don’t want these data centers in their communities, they should have the opportunity to make their voices heard. I also support local control of the ultimate decision once we have a floor in place to make sure Iowans aren’t being taken advantage of, because you have more say and more accountability over your local elected officials.

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Increase the minimum wage: Iowa has one of the lowest minimum wages in the country at just $7.25/hour. The last time it was increased was in 2008 – nearly 20 years ago! Iowans could move to any of our neighboring states to make more money or have access to better opportunities. In fact, we have the lowest minimum wage in the Midwest. We need to increase the minimum wage to keep Iowa workers here at home with good-paying, family-supporting jobs and to keep up with inflation and the sky-high cost of living. I support raising the minimum wage to $12/hour.

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Expand Statewide Work, Statewide Jobs: In small towns, we live and die by each person and family that stays or rejoins. As State Auditor, I started the Statewide Work, Statewide Jobs program, allowing employees of the Auditor’s Office to move to rural communities instead of forcing them to live in Des Moines, Ames, or Iowa City. We shouldn’t force employees to live in Iowa’s most prosperous cities when we do work in all 99 counties. As governor, I would expand Statewide Work, Statewide Jobs to the government workforce for jobs that can be done anywhere in Iowa, to support economic opportunities in small towns and rural areas.

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Support Small Businesses: As State Auditor, I made recommendations for a program to cut red tape and streamline application processes to better support our small businesses owned by women, veterans, and disabled Iowans. As governor, I would expand this program to ensure any Iowan who wants to start a small business has the support they need and the opportunity to succeed, especially in our rural communities. Ohio has changed the rules to match the reality for micro-businesses – allowing small businesses to qualify for specialized state and federal programs, including training grants, matched savings accounts, and small business support – for businesses with 10 employees or fewer. We should do the same here in Iowa.

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Improve high-speed internet access: In 2026, we know we need access to high-speed internet to do just about anything – to work, to learn, for doctor’s appointments, even for our farmers to stay connected out in the fields. Access to high-speed internet is not a luxury, but a necessity, and we must ensure Iowans in every corner of the state can get connected. I have a satellite in my truck, allowing me to work from wherever, even in my truck at 60 mph as I travel Iowa (as a passenger). Whatever technology we have at our disposal that can deliver that last mile faster – fiber, satellite, wireless – we should implement to help Iowa families get and stay connected.

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Keep Iowans in Iowa: A decade of one-party control, culture wars, and policies that prioritize insiders over Iowans has sent our next generation of Iowa workers fleeing our state. Iowa should be as welcoming as Iowans are, and be a place people feel they can stay or move to. We need to bring an end to the focus on culture war issues that make people feel unwelcome or that they can’t live here.

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Implement multiple revenue streams: By implementing multiple revenue streams on farms, including agri-tourism like cideries, selling farm-produced products like milk and cheese, land based services, and equipment rentals, farmers can increase their revenue while boosting local economies and workforces across the state.

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Invest in sustainable commodities: We need to identify more enterprises that can allow farmers to turn manure into a commodity they can use and sell. That means investing state economic development funds and incentives in plants and facilities that can convert agricultural waste into valuable bio-based products, creating more income for farmers and good-paying rural manufacturing jobs. That includes things like biomass conversion programs, selling renewable natural gas generated by methane digesters, organic fertilizer, and more. For example, manure can be converted into renewable natural gas, a key ingredient in sustainable aviation fuel. This supports farmers’ bottom lines while also helping to improve water quality.

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Invest and expand in renewable energy production: But without sacrificing agriculture production to lower costs of energy for farmers and for the communities where they live. We can do this by leveraging federal programs to lower energy costs for rural areas and on renewable energy, and working with Renewable Electric Cooperatives (RECs), which administer the programs and buy excess energy from farmers who own turbines. This spreads economic benefits and lowers electricity rates for Iowans, increasing energy supply. As governor, I would advocate for the expansion of community credit though public-private partnerships, with 65% mandated to go to farmers.

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Increase Investment in Local/Regional Food Programs: Iowa grows and produces food that feeds the world. We should also grow more food to feed ourselves. We need to invest in and create more locally owned processing capacity through a coordinated use of existing federal programs and state programs (Choose Iowa, Farm to School, USDA’s LAMP programs, Resilient Food System Infrastructure Fund, Iowa Economic Development Programs) to maximize efforts to grow food that can be consumed locally. Think farm to school, farm to hospital, farm to prison, farm to food bank. The federal government had a local food purchasing agreement program, but the program was cut. As governor, I’d model the former federal policy to the state level, and establish regional food business centers, a division tasked with advocating and assisting farmers with things like technical assistance and market development to boost the supply chain and support local job growth. Tax dollars from schools, hospitals, and jails go to feed people every day; the more that can get spent locally, the longer that money circulates in our local economies, and the more vitality we have outside of our towns.

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Establish the Office of Rural Prosperity: Our rural communities’ needs look different than those of our urban or suburban communities. Establishing the Office of Rural Prosperity, a first-of-its-kind in the state, would give our rural communities a direct contact to help address their specific needs. This office would be tasked with convening other state departments to discuss ways that rural communities are impacted, foster cross-department collaboration, and ensure an understanding of rural issues. This office would also establish mentor programs for young and new farmers interested in learning more about starting their own farm or exploring other/new types of farming. I’d require reporting on the level of investment and progress made in stemming the losses of farming operations the state has experienced to Iowans on an annual basis to not only see what’s working and what’s not, but to hold myself and my administration accountable.

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Protect rural health care: Similar to our schools, Iowa’s rural hospitals serve as economic engines and major employers for our rural communities. But too many communities across our state are being left behind, forcing people to drive miles for basic health care or even to give birth. Policies at both the federal level – including the One Big Beautiful Bill, which kicked 110,000 Iowans off Medicaid and threatens rural hospitals – and at the state level are putting care out of reach and leaving communities without options. We need to do everything we can to support and protect our hospitals across the state from closing their doors. That starts with reversing the privatization of Medicaid – which I will begin on day one of my administration.

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Tax out-of-state landowners at a higher rate and ban hedge funds and LLCs from buying up Iowa land: While we face significant budget challenges and our economy struggles, out of state interests are buying up farmland and housing while the proceeds flow out of state, leaving Iowans with fewer opportunities. For the last ten years, state government insiders have given tax breaks to out-of-state corporations while Iowans have gotten the short end of the stick. Iowa should belong to Iowans, and as governor, I would tax out-of-state landowners at a higher rate and ban hedge funds and LLCs from buying up too much Iowa land.

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Cut bureaucratic red tape: We need to simplify the permitting, fees, and inspections processes as well as the requirements set by the Iowa Finance Authority to support housing development. Eliminating bureaucratic red tape can reduce administrative time and costs so we can build more housing and types of housing, including duplexes, quadplexes, ADUs, and tiny homes.

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Protect Iowans against price gouging: As governor, I’d push for policies to protect renters from rent hikes by banning landlords from using AI algorithms to price fix and raise rents.

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Establish the Rural Iowa Housing Task Force: This group, which would be managed by the Iowa Finance Authority, would be tasked with studying new ways to develop more affordable housing options, working with state and local leaders, private stakeholders, and taking input from Iowans to tailor housing solutions to specific communities across the state. One model the task force should consider is the CDBG-Disaster Recovery program administered by the IEDA after the 2008 floods. This approach, with up-to-date stakeholder input, could address the challenges of securing funding for affordable housing and creating infrastructure in rural Iowa.