Rob Sand, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Iowa, is not on board with former Vice President Kamala Harris possibly running for the White House in 2028.
In a recent interview with Politico, Sand was asked whether Harris should launch a third campaign for the White House. Sand quickly responded, “Nope.”
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He declined to state which Democrat he thought would be best suited to help the party retake the White House and instead focused on his race to flip the Iowa governor’s mansion blue for the first time in two decades.
Sand is one of the first high-profile Democrats to say publicly that Harris should not run again in 2028. The vice president has signaled she is weighing another run after her unsuccessful 107-day campaign against President Donald Trump.
Harris remains the front-runner among 2028 Democratic hopefuls, according to several polls. Very few Democrats have publicly and full-throatedly said it is time for the party to move on from Harris, in an effort not to anger supportive black voters’ sizable impact in the presidential primary.
But Democrats in Iowa, who are hoping to snatch back control of an open Senate seat and the governorship, are publicly urging Harris to stay out of the state this election cycle.
“No thanks,” Sand said when asked about Harris or former President Joe Biden campaigning for him in Iowa. “Let’s move on. We need some new leadership.”
Campaign spokespeople for Sand and Iowa Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek previously told the Washington Examiner they do not want an endorsement from Harris, nor do they want her to appear at any campaign rallies this cycle.
ROB SAND AND JOSH TUREK DON’T WANT KAMALA HARRIS TO CAMPAIGN FOR THEM IN IOWA
Iowa Democrats are hoping to reverse the state’s turn to the GOP under Trump’s leadership this election cycle. They received a boost last week when the Cook Political Report moved the Iowa gubernatorial race from a toss-up to leans Democratic and changed Iowa’s Senate race from leans Republican to a toss-up.
Sand touted his past registration as an independent, but in 2018, he was boosted by Harris’s support for his campaign for Iowa state auditor.
