Iowa’s Democratic governor candidate: Kamala Harris shouldn’t run in 2028

Rob Sand, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Iowa, said in an interview released Wednesday that former Vice President Kamala Harris should not run for president in 2028 .

“Nope,” Sand remarked , after Politico’s Jonathan Martin asked him whether Harris should seek the Democratic nomination again.

He also brushed off questions about Harris, who ran two unsuccessful bids for the White House, potentially campaigning for him.

“No thanks,” the Iowa state auditor said, when pressed on the issue.

“Let’s move on,” he added. “We need some new leadership.”

Harris has not definitively said whether she will run for president again in 2028, but she said in April she “might” do so.

“I’m thinking about it,” the former vice president told the Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network’s annual convention .

Sand is facing off against Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the race to succeed outgoing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R). A Democrat has not won an Iowa gubernatorial election since former Gov. Chet Culver (D) two decades ago.

A recent poll by Suffolk University found Sand leading Lahn, with 48 percent support to the Republican’s 44 percent. Sand’s lead was within the margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

The only Democrat elected to statewide office in 2022, Sand has served as state auditor since 2019. The Democratic gubernatorial nominee has criticized his own party, saying blue states California and New York “are not utopia” earlier this month.

“You can put something in a place, and it does okay for a little while. But if it’s there for too long, it gets unbalanced,” Sand said at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. “You gotta take it out and put something else in.

“I just described crop rotation, and that works for politicians the same way it does for corn and beans, ladies and gentlemen. Time to rotate the crops in the capitol building,” he added, referring to the GOP’s grip on the Hawkeye State.

During his interview with Martin, Sand also turned down the hypothetical of former President Biden campaigning for him.

“No. Can he even do that right now? I’m sorry,” Sand said of the 83-year-old Biden , who has prostate cancer .