Iowa Election Night 2026: Results, Key Races — Democrat Rob Sand is Iowa’s new governor

The 2026 highly anticipated midterm elections are over. Nationally and in Iowa, Americans flocked to the polls. Democrats took control of both the U.S. House and Senate. Iowa gained a new governor, Democrat Rob Sand, and Iowa flipped several other seats from red to blue.

Sand, 44, took the stage and thanked his spouse, family, running mate Dave Mulbauer, lieutenant governor, and supporters and friends.

“Thank you, Iowa,” Sand said to applause. “Thank you, Iowa. I love you, Iowa.”

In his victory speech, Sand said his campaign was built on bipartisan support. He said he would work to restore transparency and accountability and address issues like Iowa’s water quality problems and rising cancer rates, among other priorities. He said Iowans voted for change, checks and balances and to bring back transparency and accountability to state government.

“Tonight, Iowans across the state made their voices heard, and they voted to restore our public schools to their former glory, they voted to address our cancer crisis with real solutions, not with rhetoric and to make public service the focus of government, not politics by regulating, well, the people who need regulation most — politicians.”

State Rep. Rob Johnson, who attended the event, said his colleagues on the other side of the aisle had pushed legislation through and didn’t listen to Democrats. He said they hedged their bets on President Donald Trump and “being mean-spirited and evil towards people.”

“And Iowa folks showed up to deliver something different,” he said. “They told them: ‘We don’t like the way you’re governing.”

Here are the unofficial results from key races. Iowa Election Results 2026.

(A checkmark denotes the winner. ✅)

Governor

✅ (D) Rob Sand/Dave Muhlbauer WINNER

(R) Zach Lahn/Derek Wulf

U.S. Senator

(R) Ashley Hinson

✅ (D) Josh Turek WINNER

“This is where our comeback begins,” Turek told the crowd in Des Moines.

U.S. Representative – 1st Congressional District

(R) U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

✅ (D) Christina Bohannan WINNER

U.S. Representative – 2nd Congressional District

✅ (D) Lindsay James WINNER

(R) Joe Mitchell

U.S. Representative – 3rd Congressional District

(R)Zach Nunn

✅ (D) Sarah Trone Garriott WINNER

For more results, visit the Iowa Secretary of State

---

Black elected officials who won their races in Iowa include:

Incumbent State Rep. Ross Wilburn (D-50) Ames (unopposed)

Incumbent State Rep. Jerome Amos (D-62) Waterloo (unopposed)

Incumbent State Rep. Rob Johnson (D-34) Des Moines (unopposed)

State Rep. Ivette Muhammad (D-33) Des Moines

Incumbent State Rep. Mary Madison (D-31) West Des Moines

Incumbent Mary Wells, Polk County Treasurer, Des Moines (unopposed)

Izah Knox (D), Polk County Supervisor, District 5 Des Moines (unopposed)

Tavis Hall, (D), District 4 Waterloo

Vincent Collis (D-61) Waterloo

(If there are other Black winners we should know about, email us at dana@blackiowanews.com).

(This story was last updated at 2:42 a.m.)

---