桑誓言阻止新堕胎限制，而莱恩表示他“百分百”支持保守派的文化斗争
作者：伊莱恩·马伦、保罗·斯坦豪斯 福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年10月28日 美国东部时间凌晨5点
爱荷华州州长候选人阐述截然不同的堕胎立场
民主党人罗布·桑和共和党人扎克·莱恩在2026年10月27日的爱荷华州州长辩论中讨论了他们的堕胎立场。（来源：KCRG-TV9）
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商人扎克·莱恩，以及前爱荷华州助理总检察长、两届州审计官罗布·桑，正竞争接替已近十年州长任期的退休共和党州长金·雷诺兹。
两位对手周二晚间展开了一场90分钟的辩论，讨论了欺诈、文化战争和数据中心等议题，甚至在部分问题上达成了共识。
爱荷华州的这场竞选是该州20年来首次开放州长竞选，雷诺兹去年宣布不再寻求连任。
桑是目前爱荷华州唯一一名担任全州级职务的民主党人，迅速成为该党领跑者，在今年的初选中没有遇到任何反对。
自称为企业家和农民的莱恩则必须应对竞争激烈且争议不断的初选。他在有众议员兰迪·芬斯特拉（获唐纳德·特朗普总统背书）参与的五名共和党提名人竞选中胜出。
桑的目标是成为20年来第二位当选爱荷华州州长的民主党人，这个曾经的摇摆州在过去十年已转向右翼。福克斯新闻在选举日前发布的最终实力排名将莱恩与桑的竞选列为“倾向民主党”。
以下是五大关键时刻。
堕胎与文化战争议题
两位候选人在堕胎、 parental rights和跨性别儿童相关问题等多项文化战争议题上存在分歧。桑明确表示，他不会签署任何他认为带有“分裂性”的新法案。
“那些人们无法达成一致的分裂性议题，我们该终结这些了，”桑说，“对我来说，否决文化战争法案，说白了就是要把100%的立法时间花在影响全部爱荷华民众的议题上。”
桑还表示，尽管该州已实施六周堕胎禁令，但共和党和右翼仍在施加更大限制堕胎的压力。
“这已经极其严格了，”桑说，“我认为我们没必要再进一步，但立法机构里很多人说这项禁令成为法律时，他们还想走得更远。我会否决任何进一步的提案。”
而莱恩则表示，他“百分百”支持保守派正在开展的文化斗争。
“这些意识形态正在渗透到我们的文化中，我认为父母，尤其是当我们谈及学校里出现的相关问题时，他们只是在寻求某种可以信赖的东西。我觉得绝对有必要设置每一项保护措施，确保我们的女儿得到保护，女孩得到保护，女性体育得到保护，”莱恩说。
莱恩还表示，他参选是为了保护最弱势群体。
“那是未出生胎儿的生命，那是我们的女儿，那是在校的幼童，”莱恩说。
欺诈与监督
欺诈和不当使用纳税人资金是莱恩和桑都关注的首要问题，但两位候选人在打击腐败的方法上存在分歧。
曾担任州审计官的桑推动对该州教育储蓄账户计划进行强制审计，称这是“常识”。
“他们无需接受审计，而且需要制定资金使用的规则，”桑说，“公立学校违规会有处罚，私立学校如果接受公共资金违规也该受罚。如果不想遵守这些规则，那就别拿公共资金。”
莱恩表示，他在担任审计官期间曾看到向死者付款的情况，并指责雷诺兹州长签署了名为《478号参议院法案》的法律，称该法案让审计工作变得更难开展。
“他们修改了法律，让我们更难发现被滥用的税款，”桑说，“美国每一个参与评议的政府监督机构都认为这是一项糟糕的法律，会导致浪费、欺诈和滥用行为增加。”
与此同时，莱恩坚称学校应由第三方审计，而非由政府监督。
“我认为第三方审计才是正确方向，”莱恩说，“我认为我们可以做类似的事，既能保障学校的隐私，又能确保资金使用得当。”
莱恩还对不当的医疗补助付款提出担忧，并提到明尼苏达州该州项目的欺诈指控。
他主张采用区块链等先进技术来确保资金使用合规。
“这会让数千名公民审计人员参与进来，追踪政府浪费的每一分钱。我们从州级开始，也会向下覆盖到县级，从而实现资金使用的彻底透明，”莱恩说，“我们都希望政府更高效。实现这一目标的最佳途径之一就是彻底透明。”
教育选择
爱荷华州的教育储蓄账户计划为家庭提供纳税人资金用于私立学校学费，受到了桑的质疑，他呼吁对该计划设置收入门槛，并指出该州正面临11亿美元的赤字。
“我们每年投入数亿美元给那些足够富裕、愿意送孩子去私立学校的人，他们有钱，他们想送就送，没问题，但你们的税款没必要用来支付这些费用，”桑说。
莱恩则认为该计划是“基础自由”，当学校无法满足孩子的需求时，无论父母收入高低，都应该有其他选择。
“我认为没有所谓的‘政府资金’，”莱恩说，“那是人民的钱，是他们自己的钱。”
两位候选人还对接受公共资金的私立学校是否有权拒绝学生存在分歧——这一问题将由最高法院在科罗拉多州案件《圣玛丽天主教教区诉罗伊》中审议。
“接受公共资金的私立学校应该接收所有想入学的学生，”桑说，“而目前私立学校可以挑选哪些学生入学，这一事实暴露了该计划言论与实际效果的差距。”
莱恩表示，“最佳模式”是父母有多种选择，找到最适合自己孩子需求的方案。
“如果给学校加上这些限制，很多学校，尤其是最小的学校，会承受巨大负担，”莱恩说。
数据中心
桑和莱恩都同意，如果数据中心想在爱荷华州建设，就应该支付“公平份额”。
数据中心成为本次选举的焦点议题，桑最先提出了这一话题，当时他讨论平衡州预算的计划是停止向数据公司提供税收减免。
“数据中心应该全额纳税，甚至超额纳税，”桑说，“如果需要建设电网来满足需求，他们可以自己付钱。”
“从财务角度来说，他们应该为我爱荷华州做出贡献，如果不想贡献，就可以去别处建设，”桑继续说道。
莱恩表示同意他的对手，并指出这可能是“唯一”他们达成共识的一点。
“一家拥有千亿美元资产的跨国公司不需要爱荷华民众的‘福利’，”莱恩说。
他表示，有一家数据中心获得了5.29亿美元的财产税减免，且仅需创造30个工作岗位就能获得该减免。
“数据中心的扩张不仅速度过快，而且我们感觉自己被利用了，”莱恩说。
“他们需要做的是支付公平份额，我们需要设立一类新的财产税，将工业类以上的数据中心单独征税，因为它们每平方英尺雇佣的人数少得多，我们需要对那里征收更高的财产税，”莱恩说。
枪支管制
辩论最后，主持人询问均承诺支持保护《第二修正案》权利的莱恩和桑，是否会签署任何限制或管控枪支的法案。
莱恩表示他不支持签署任何新的限制法案，称该州“处于良好状态”。桑表示，守法公民行使《第二修正案》权利很重要，但他支持背景调查。
这一问题出现数周前，俄勒冈州一所小学发生了三名儿童被枪击身亡的事件。莱恩指出，校园枪手是被一名拥有 concealed carry permit（隐蔽持枪证）的家长击毙的。
“我认为我们最不希望做的就是限制携带枪支的守法公民保护社区中的亲人。这是我们需要保障的权利，”莱恩说。
桑分享了一个故事，他在起诉一名交保获释男子时，得知该男子持有隐蔽持枪证。
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“如果我判他有罪，而我知道他可能会跟着我到酒店，晚上跟着我去吃饭，或者早上跟着我去法院，这件西装就是我当时携带那支枪时穿的，”桑说。
伊莱恩·马伦是福克斯数字和福克斯商业频道的撰稿人，负责报道全国政治。
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Can a Democrat stop Iowa’s red drift? 5 moments from the governor’s debate
Sand vowed to block new abortion restrictions while Lahn said he is ‘100%’ behind the conservative culture battle
By Elaine Mallon , Paul Steinhauser Fox News
Published October 28, 2026 5:00am EDT
Iowa governor candidates lay out contrasting abortion views
Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn discuss their positions on abortion during the Iowa gubernatorial debate on Oct. 27, 2026. (Source: KCRG-TV9)
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Zach Lahn, a businessman, and Rob Sand, a former Iowa assistant attorney general and two-term state auditor, are competing to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has served as governor for nearly a decade.
The opponents faced off Tuesday night for a 90-minute debate where they discussed fraud, culture wars and data centers, and even found agreement on some issues.
The race in Iowa is the state’s first open gubernatorial showdown in 20 years, with Reynolds last year announcing she wouldn’t seek re-election.
Sand, the only Democrat to currently hold statewide office in Iowa, quickly became his party’s frontrunner and faced no opposition in this year’s primary.
Lahn, a self-described entrepreneur and farmer, had to navigate a crowded and contentious primary battle. He won a five-candidate Republican nomination race that included Rep. Randy Feenstra, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Sand is aiming to become the first Democrat in two decades elected governor in Iowa, a one-time swing state that’s shifted to the right over the past decade. The final Fox News Power Rankings ahead of Election Day rated the race between Lahn and Sand as Lean Democrat.
Here are the top five moments.
DRAG QUEENS, TRANS PASTOR, ABORTION RALLIES: INSIDE DEM GOVERNOR HOPEFUL’S PROGRESSIVE CHURCH
Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, left, speaks after being invited on stage during a rally with U.S. President Donald Trump at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, on October 22, 2026. Democratic gubernatorial candidate, State Auditor Rob Sand, right, speaks during a campaign stop at the state Education Association in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 8, 2026. Polls released show Sand leading the race to replace retiring Gov. Kim Reynolds against Lahn.(Anna Moneymaker / Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Abortion and Culture War Issues
The candidates differed on several culture war issues, such as abortion, parental rights and childhood transgender concerns. Sand affirmed that he would refuse to sign any new bill that he deemed culturally “divisive.”
“The divisive stuff that people don’t agree on, let’s end that,” Sand said. “So vetoing culture war bills to me is just a different way to say I want us to put 100% of our legislating time into issues that impact 100% of Iowans.”
Sand also said that there is pressure from Republicans and the right to implement greater restrictions on abortion, even though the state has already implemented a six-week ban.
“It’s incredibly restrictive,” Sand said. “I do not think we have to go further but a lot of the folks in the legislature said when that ban became law that they want to go further. I would veto going further.”
Meanwhile, Lahn said he is “100%” behind culture battles being fought by conservatives.
“There is an issue with these ideologies infiltrating into our culture and I think parents, especially when we talk about some of these issues coming up in schools, they’re just looking for something they should be able to count on. And I think it is absolutely important that we put every single protection in place to make that our daughters are protected, that girls are protected, that women’s sports are protected,” Lahn said.
Lahn also said that he was motivated to run for office to protect the most vulnerable.
“That’s the lives of the unborn. That’s our daughters. That’s the young kids in school,” Lahn said.
MEDICAID PROVIDER ALLEGEDLY BILLED $165K FOR DEAD PATIENT’S RIDES AMONG FRAUD EXPOSED IN EXPLOSIVE REPORT
Iowa Republican nominee for governor Zach Lahn speaks to fairgoers at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 14, 2026 in Des Moines, Iowa.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Fraud and Oversight
Fraud and improper spending of taxpayer dollars was top of mind for both Lahn and Sand, but the candidates differed in their approaches to tackling corruption.
Sand, who used to be the state’s auditor, pushed for mandated audits on the state’s Education Savings Account program, calling it “common sense.”
“They’re not required to have audits, and they need to have rules for how that money gets spent,” Sand said. “Same things that would get you in trouble as a public school should get you in trouble as a private school if you’re taking public money. If you don’t want to abide by those rules, then you can continue to not take public money.”
Lahn said during his time as auditor he saw payments being made to dead people and accused Gov. Reynolds of signing a law known as Senate File 478, claiming it made it harder for auditors to do their job.
“They changed the law to make it harder for us to find misspent tax money,” Sand said. “This is something that every single government watchdog in America that weighed in on said would be a terrible law that would lead to an increase in waste, fraud and abuse.”
Meanwhile, Lahn maintained that schools should be audited by third parties instead of being under government oversight.
“I think third-party auditing is where it should go,” Lahn said. “I think we could do something very similar, which allows these schools to still have their privacy, but make sure that the funds are being spent properly.”
Lahn also raised concerns of improper Medicaid payments, pointing to the fraud allegations from Minnesota’s state program.
He argued for implementing advanced technologies like blockchain to ensure that money is being properly spent.
“This would create thousands of citizen auditors trying to find every single dollar that the government is wasting. And we start at the state level. Then we go down to the county level as well, where we can have radical transparency in spending,” Lahn said. “We all want to have more efficient government. One of the best ways to do it is through radical transparency.”
DEMOCRATS AIM TO KILL SCHOOL CHOICE FROM WISCONSIN TO THE REST OF THE US
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/rob-sand-august-20-2026.jpg
Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand speaks to voters during a campaign visit to the Carroll County Conservation Classroom on Aug. 20, 2026 in Carroll, Iowa.(Leon Neal/Getty Images)
School Choice
Iowa’s Education Savings Account program, which provides taxpayer dollars to families to cover tuition for private schools, faced scrutiny by Sand, who called for income restrictions on the program, pointing to the state facing a $1.1 billion deficit.
“We are putting hundreds of millions of dollars every single year into the pockets of people who have plenty of money, good for them, and are already going to send their kids to private school, fine by me, but your tax dollars don’t need to go pay for that,” Sand said.
Lahn argued that the program was a “foundational freedom” and that when a school program isn’t meeting a child’s needs, parents should be able to go elsewhere regardless of their income.
“I think that there’s no such thing as government money,” Lahn said. “There’s the people’s money, this is their money.”
The candidates also disagreed over whether private schools that receive public funding should be allowed to turn away students — an issue the Supreme Court will consider this term in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy,a case from Colorado.
“Private schools that are taking public money should have to take whichever students say they want to attend there,” Sand said. “The fact that they don’t have to right now exposes the gulf between the rhetoric around this program and what it actually does, because right now, private schools can pick and choose which students can come in the front door.”
Lahn said the “best model” is for parents to have different options for what fits their child’s needs best.
“If you put these restrictions on schools, many of them, especially the smallest ones, will be burdened to a great degree,” Lahn said.
Data Centers
Sand and Lahn both agreed that data centers need to pay their “fair share” if they want to build in Iowa.
The topic of data centers — which has become a flashpoint issue this election cycle — was first raised by Sand when discussing his plan for balancing the state’s budget was to cease giving data companies tax breaks.
“Data centers should be paying all their taxes and then some,” Sand said. “If they need to build the grid out to do what they need to do, they can pay for that.”
“Financially speaking, they should be contributing to the state of Iowa, and if they don’t want to contribute, they can build somewhere else,” Sand continued.
Lahn said that he agreed with his opponent, noting it may be “the one thing” that they both agreed on.
“A hundred billion dollar multinational company does not need welfare from the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.
He said that there was a data center receiving $529 million in property tax abatements and was only required to create 30 jobs to receive the tax break.
“Not only is this happening too quickly with data centers, but it’s also happening in a way that we feel like we’re being take advantage of,” Lahn said.
“What they need to do is pay their fair share, and we need to actually create a new class of property tax, which would be above industrial, because these are employing far fewer people per square foot, and we need to have a higher rate of property, a property tax there,” Lahn said.
Gun Control
To end the debate, the moderators asked Lahn and Sand, who both have pledged support for protecting Second Amendment rights, if there was any legislation that they would sign to restrict or regulate firearms.
Lahn shared that he’s not in favor of signing any new restrictions, saying the state is in a “good place.” Sand said that it’s important for law-abiding citizens to be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but that he supported background checks.
The question comes weeks after three children were gunned down in an elementary school in Oregon. Lahn pointed out that the school shooter was killed by a parent, who had a concealed carry permit.
“I think that the last thing we want to do is restrict the ability for lawful citizens that are carrying firearms to protect the people they love in their communities. That’s something that we need to make sure we’re protecting,” Lahn said.
Sand shared a story about how he, while prosecuting a man who was out on bail, learned the man had received a concealed carry permit.
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“If I convicted him, and I knew that he could be following me to my hotel, or following me to dinner at night, or following me to court in the morning, this suit was one of the suits that I was carrying that weapon in,” Sand said.
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
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