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Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand maintains a higher job approval rating than Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll finds.

A majority of Iowans — 53% — approve of how Sand, the only Democrat elected to statewide office in Iowa, is handling his job. Another 17% disapprove and 31% are not sure.

Half of Iowans (50%) approve of the job Reynolds is doing, while 46% disapprove and 4% are not sure.

Bird has 42% job approval and 32% disapproval, with 26% not sure.

Reynolds has not said whether she plans to seek another term as governor in 2026. Sand is often talked about as a potential candidate for the office.

And, on caucus night, former President Donald Trump named Bird as someone to watch, saying “she’s going to be your governor someday.”

The poll shows that more Iowans approve of the job that the Republican-controlled Iowa State Legislature is doing (46%) than disapprove (39%).

The poll of 806 Iowa adults was conducted June 9-14 by Selzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Rob Sand enjoys majority approval, gets high marks from Republicans

Sand, who was first elected to the auditor’s office in 2018 and reelected in 2022, has clashed with Reynolds and legislative Republicans, who have introduced or passed several bills limiting his office’s powers.

About two-thirds of Democrats (65%) approve of Sand’s job performance, down 2 percentage points from the last Iowa Poll to test his job approval, in February.

Sand draws high marks from Republicans, with 59% approving of his job performance, up from 51% in February.

He also has the approval of 40% of political independents, although that number is down from 54% in February.

Sand hits 60% approval or higher among several demographic groups, including Republican men (64%; Iowans 55 and older, Catholics, Iowans earning $70,000 or more and white men with a college degree (all 61%); and dads with children under age 18 (60%).

Less than half of Iowans say they know enough about Sand to say whether they feel favorably about him. But he stands in positive territory among those who do, with 36% viewing him favorably and 13% unfavorably.

Linda Roepsch, an 80-year-old poll respondent from Dubuque, said she approves of Sand.

“He’s been very open with everything,” said Roepsch, a Democrat and retiree. “He’s one of the few ones that are open. You can call and contact his office, and you’re going to get a response.”

Kim Reynolds’ standing among Republicans rises, while support from independents drops

Reynolds’ 50% job approval rating is up 1 percentage point from the last Iowa Poll in February.

Her job approval among Republicans has improved since February. Now, 84% say they approve of the job she is doing as governor, up from 76% in February.

Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump in the Iowa Caucuses, saying she didn’t believe Trump could win the general election. Reynolds endorsed Trump in March, once it became clear he would win the Republican nomination.

She has aggressively criticized Trump’s New York conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, calling it “a sham.”

In February, her standing among those who plan to vote for Trump this year was at 81%. Now it’s 85%.

Alan Groesbeck, a 57-year-old Republican poll respondent from Otterville, said he approves of Reynolds’ conservative policies on taxes and abortion.

“She seems to stick pretty close to the conservative side as far as the bills that she passes,” said Groesbeck, an architectural draftsman. “It seems like she’s trying to do limited government and definitely trying to reduce the taxes on Iowans.”

Reynolds exceeds 60% approval among evangelicals (72%), Catholics (63%), rural Iowans (63%) and dads with children under 18 (61%).

A majority of Iowans now view Reynolds favorably, at 51%, while 45% view her unfavorably and 4% are not sure. That’s an improvement from February, when 48% viewed Reynolds favorably and 47% viewed her unfavorably.

Leon Aalderks, a 55-year-old poll respondent from Dike, said he thinks Reynolds is “headed in the right direction.”

“I think she’s doing a fine job trying to cut back on the government spending, government overall,” said Aalderks, a Republican who works in sales.

He said Reynolds perhaps “went a step too far” with her legislation overhauling the state’s Area Education Agencies this year, “but that’s because I’m married to a teacher, and I hear that side of it.”

“I just think some of her things are a little out of line, like cutting the AEAs out, or cutting them way back. I don’t agree with that,” he said. “But overall, I agree with what she’s doing.”

Reynolds’ approval among independents has dropped since February. Now, 42% of independents approve of Reynolds and 54% disapprove. In February, 46% approved and 51% disapproved.

Just 12% of Democrats approve of Reynolds, while 85% disapprove.

Roepsch, the Democratic poll respondent from Dubuque, said she disapproves of Reynolds.

“I don’t think her leadership has been worth a darn,” she said.

She criticized Reynolds’ legislation that allows families to use taxpayer-funded education savings accounts to pay for private school costs such as tuition and fees.

“I don’t like what she’s did to the education system at all,” Roepsch said. “I mean, public schools, we pay taxes for our public schools, and to turn around and take the funds from public schools and do it where you can turn around and send it to a charter school and they’re taking your taxpayer dollars to pay for that, no, that isn’t what public school is supposed to be for.”

Brenna Bird performs well with Iowans planning to vote for Donald Trump

Bird’s approval has risen 2 percentage points since February, to 42%, while her disapproval has climbed 4 percentage points to 32%.

Fifty-eight percent of Republicans approve of Bird, while 16% disapprove and 25% are not sure.

Among independents, 36% approve, 34% disapprove and 30% are not sure.

A quarter of Democrats (25%) approve of Bird, while 55% disapprove and 20% are not sure.

Bird endorsed Trump ahead of the Iowa Caucuses and traveled to New York to support him during his criminal trial. Among Iowans who plan to vote for Trump this fall, 62% approve of her job performance.

Groesbeck said he approves of Bird. He said he attended the Republican convention this year and liked Bird’s speech, where she praised Trump and criticized the criminal charges against him.

“It seemed one of the more heartfelt speeches that were given that day,” he said.

Bird, who is staunchly anti-abortion and has defended Iowa’s six-week “fetal heartbeat” abortion ban in court, has majority approval from evangelicals, at 51%.

Fewer Iowans know enough about Bird to rate their feelings toward her than were able to rate her job performance.

One in five Iowans, 20%, say they feel favorable toward Bird, while 23% feel unfavorable. While Bird’s favorability has remained steady since February, the percentage of those viewing her unfavorably has risen by 3 percentage points.

Roepsch said “I don’t really care for” Bird.

“She is so far right,” she said.

Half of Iowans say the state is on the wrong track

Half of Iowans believe the state is on the wrong track, at 50%, while 43% say it is headed in the right direction and 7% are not sure.

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That’s nearly even with the results in February, when 50% said the state was headed on the wrong track, 44% said it was headed in the right direction and 6% were not sure.

Analyzed by party identification, Republicans are most likely to say the state is headed in the right direction (69%), while 25% say the state is on the wrong track.

Just over a third of independents (36%) say Iowa is headed in the right direction, while a majority (53%) say things are on the wrong track.

Few Democrats think the state is headed in the right direction (15%). The vast majority of Democrats (82%) say Iowa is on the wrong track.

This poll and the February poll are the only times since 2010 when half of Iowans thought the state was headed in the wrong direction.

Iowans’ opinions about the Iowa Legislature are mostly unchanged since February, with 46% now approving and 39% disapproving.

Three-quarters of Republicans (75%) approve of the Republican-controlled Legislature, up from 70% in February. Approval among independents has dropped 10 percentage points since February and now sits at 37%, while 45% disapprove.

Just 19% of Democrats approve of the Legislature.

Aalderks said he agrees with the Iowa Legislature’s efforts to slim down the size of government.

“Just take my taxes, let me pay my fair share, give me a decent road to drive on to get to work and just leave me alone more than anything, I guess is what I’m looking for,” he said. “I have no problem paying my taxes as long as they don’t get out of hand. And yeah, just stay out of the way.”

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted June 9-14, 2024, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 806 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.

Questions based on the sample of 806 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit and, on digital platforms, links to originating content on The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: Rob Sand leads Kim Reynolds, Brenna Bird in job approval