This article is part of The Rob Sand Files.
Iowa is not a Deep Red State; We’re a Deep Jade State
By Sondra Wilson. Updated July 12, 2025.
For many Iowa Democrats, May 12, 2025 — when Rob Sand announced he was running — was the moment they’d all been waiting for. After all, he is the only Democrat who holds a state office currently – all the rest are Republicans! Due to his outstanding, quite noticeable work as State Auditor, Rob has carved a name for himself within Iowa’s political landscape. As Auditor, he is well-respected by Republicans, moderate Democrats, and some progressives. As prospective Governor, however, for many Iowans it is non-negotiable: he is funded by — and effectively aiding and abetting — the same people who are violating us: see The Elephant in the Room article for evidence.
Independent voters outnumber Democrats and Republicans
According to Independent Voter Project, there unaffiliated and third party voters outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats:
Screenshot from Independent Voter Project’s data table depicting roughly 39% of Iowans as third party or unaffiliated, while only 32% are registered Republican and 29% are Democrat.
Iowans are deeply jaded by politics-as-usual
Many Sand-supporting Dems are quick to inform people that Iowa is “a deep red state”, and that we have “no other choice” but to elect a centrist who appeals to both sides. “If we don’t, we’ll end up with a Republican, and it will be your fault,” is often implied or directly stated. It is these types of arguments, however, that has led to many progressives and independents to see Democrats as out-of-touch with average Iowans. We are not “deep red”: we are deep jade. Why? Because we’re deeply jaded about national and statewide politics. We see the two-party system as the problem because the candidates who get put forth by either party never address our most urgent, dire needs (e.g. housing, community gardens, access to nature, healthcare). Instead they toss millions of desperately-needed dollars over the tops of our heads in order to back candidates who either are actively ripping benefits away from impoverished Citizens, or barely fighting for us when we’re violated. Too often when Democratic leaders speak up, they speak in rhetoric, slogans, and platitudes, instead of *actual plans* to address the issues. Additionally, although Democrats talk a good game when it comes to supporting civil rights, for those of us who are among the minority, it always seems like a bottom-shelf issue that is first to be put on the backburner every time the party shifts back toward the right in order to try to appeal to moderates and Republicans. In doing so, they lose their base, who have become more and more jaded over the years as we’ve watched this cycle repeat itself.
For transgender Iowans, it feels very hurtful and it is personal
As a transgender woman, I think to myself, “The Lauridsens paid to put Republicans in place who have spent years slandering and attacking the rights of transgender people — and cutting off our access to healthcare. Now they gave $7 M to their son-in-law who is telling us we just need to be nice to them and let bygones be bygones? He’s not standing up for us. That $7 M that was used to bankroll Rob’s campaign could have easily paid for all our surgeries.” The thought of voting for Rob makes my blood boil, just as I’m sure it does many other Iowans who are currently being harmed by the people Rob’s financiers helped put into office. This is a perfect example of rich people tossing desperately-needed dollars over the tops of peoples’ heads in order to hurt us, then pulling a bait-and-switch by then backing a moderate candidate with a charming personality calms the people into submission.
What we really need to see are:
(1) Acknowledgment by Rob Sand of this glaring concern that the transgender community has by. Show sincere concern for the pain we’re going through. Acknowledge that we are no longer covered by MediCaid due to the removal of gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, and how those who financed him helped to make this happen.
(2) Public apologies from the Lauridsen family, and financial assistance to any and all transgender people (including Sondra) who need healthcare coverage but cannot afford it. On a personal note, now that MediCaid is no longer covering hormones, the pharmacy wants to charge me more than $300 for a six week supply. How am I supposed to afford this on top of rent? Add in the fact that there are MediCaid work requirements and our removal from the Act allows people to openly discriminate and harass (e.g. misgender) us, and the state will now greenlight the abuse. So we’re supposed to work in an abusive atmosphere and pay for rent and healthcare? Private insurers generally don’t cover our surgeries, so getting private healthcare doesn’t help because they deny us. MediCaid covered our surgeries because the court found that our surgeries are medically-necessary. Although many people who are not transgender contend that the surgeries are merely cosmetic, I know from personal experience how much physical, mental, and emotional suffering we go through when we can’t have medical needs covered. In a society who has the cure for us, it is being withheld for political reasons. Where is the compassion? We would like apologies from the people who hurt us, including but not limited to the Lauridsens, Kim Reynolds, Donald Trump, Randy Feenstra (who slanders us on his political page), and many others who have capitalized on our suffering, and worked to raise themselves to power by turning fellow Iowans against us through slander and misinformation. We are not asking for much. We are asking to be treated as you would wish to be treated if you were in our shoes. I need help affording medical costs, and I know many other transgender people are now in the same boat. We cannot vote for Rob based on these reasons. Please acknowledge and honor our pain. The Republican Party once worked to lift black people up when they were living at the bottom of the human rights barrel, and that is what Iowa’s transgender community needs from Republicans today.
Democrats are moving to the right to appeal to Independents, when really Indies want Dems to be Progressive
Unfortunately, mainstream Democrats appear poised to ditch standing up for civil rights because they wrongly perceive that most Independents are centrists, and that they must move toward to the center to appeal to them. Put another way, there is a currently a narrative within the Democratic Party that seems to think most Independents are “somewhere in the middle” between Democrats and Republicans, when in fact many Independents have more in common with progressive Dems than they do with centrists. It is the Democratic Party’s tendency to move to the right every time things get dicey that turns Progressive Democrats and Independents off, and it it is the exact reason many progressive end up defecting from the party to become nonpartisan or independent (which are technically two different classifications according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board). In summary, by moving to the right in favor of Rob, the Democratic Party is making the same mistake it’s made for decades: wrongly perceiving that most Iowans are politically in the center, when in fact most Iowans have strong principles, are tired of feeling like they have fake choices, and they refuse to compromise at times when we clearly see we’re having the wool pulled over our eyes.
Now is the time for Democrats to make a choice: will you move to the right because you’ve convinced each other the party needs do this in order to win, or will you finally become the party so many Americans wish you’d finally become? If you truly stand for civil rights, healthcare, and funding for public schools, stand on your principles and back a progressive candidate! Otherwise, you are likely going to lose the same constituencies you are trying to appeal to, and the Democratic Party will remain caught in the same cycle we’ve been stuck in for years: putting forth a centrist candidate, then blaming progressives and independents for not backing backing them, telling us, “Not voting is the same as voting for a Republican,” and “We have no choice but to vote for a centrist because Iowa is a deep red state!” Simply put, neither of those fallacies are not true. Democrats have a unique, progressive candidate to choose from now — early on in the primaries — so please don’t stick us with a Republican-backed candidate, then put us into a very uncomfortable “do or die” situation later, where we feel forced to vote for Rob to survive.
Many Dems are convinced we need to put forth Rob Sand in order to appeal to center-leaning Republicans and Independents, however, by doing so, Dems are losing passionate, socially-influential progressives who will defect from the party and become independents if they see a progressive candidate snubbed by the party and ignored or twisted by media. I’m not sure where the common perception that “everyone who is not Republican or Democrat is somewhere in the middle” came from, but based on many political conversations I’ve had with other Iowans over the years, most Independents have more in common with Progressive Democrats than they do with centrists. In fact, it is the centrist-leaning Democratic Party that keeps Independents from backing Dems. When average Independents see Rob Sand put forth as the Democratic frontrunner, they don’t think, “I kind of like him – he’s more in the middle.” Rather, they think, “He’s backed by Republicans. This is why I don’t like politics – it’s all a scam. I’m not going to get behind something that’s fake. Both the parties are the same.” We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all heard it frequently. If you haven’t, you either don’t live in Iowa, or you’re insulated by living in the upper crust of society. Walk into a bar or ask people on the street what they think about party politicians. That’s where you hear the real answers, and that is where you will find, Iowans are deeply jaded by fake politicians who are out-of-touch with Iowans. Iowa is a deep jade state because Iowans are deeply jaded by business-as-usual politics.
Sondra Wilson for Iowa Governor