# 2018 Iowa State Auditor election
The 2018 Iowa State Auditor election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, to choose Iowa's Auditor of State for a four-year term. Democratic nominee Rob Sand, a former assistant attorney general, defeated the Republican incumbent Mary Mosiman, ousting a sitting statewide officeholder in one of the notable Democratic results of the night in otherwise Republican-leaning Iowa.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Election date | Tuesday, November 6, 2018; four-year term, election cycle 2014/2018[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) |
| Winner | Rob Sand (Democratic), 660,169 votes, 49.48%[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) |
| Runner-up | Mary Mosiman (Republican, incumbent), 601,320 votes, 45.07%[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) |
| Third candidate | Fred Perryman (Libertarian), 33,421 votes, 2.50%; total votes cast 1,334,279[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) |
| Incumbent's path to office | Appointed May 13, 2013 after Auditor David A. "Dave" Vaudt's resignation; first elected in 2014[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) |
| Winner's background | Former assistant attorney general; chief public corruption and financial crimes prosecutor who led the Eddie Tipton lottery-rigging prosecution[2](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/) • [3](https://auditforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FY23_ALL_STAFF-1152239-v2-MAMIAF-SPEAKER_BIOGRAPHIES_-_12_6-7_2023.pdf) |
| Campaign spending | Sand raised over $1.7 million in a race typically described as quiet and under the radar[4](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/) |
## Candidates
**Rob Sand.** Sand announced his candidacy in November 2017 with an online video, positioning himself as a challenger to the Republican incumbent[5](https://www.radioiowa.com/2017/11/13/state-prosecutor-announces-bid-for-state-auditor/). A graduate of [Brown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-university) and the University of Iowa Law School, he worked in the Iowa attorney general's office for a decade and led the prosecution of Eddie Tipton, the man who rigged lottery drawings[2](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/). He ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the June 5, 2018 primary, receiving 5,329 votes in Johnson County alone[6](https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/2018PrimaryElectionResults.pdf).
**Mary Mosiman.** Mosiman, a Republican, had been appointed state auditor in 2013 following David Vaudt's resignation and won a four-year term in 2014[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA) • [2](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/). She was renominated for the 2018 regular election[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA).
**Fred Perryman.** The Libertarian Party's 2018 nominee was Perryman, a sales manager from Cedar Falls[2](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/).
## Campaign
The central dispute between the major-party candidates was professional qualification. Mosiman argued that the office required a certified public accountant, noting that "since 1979 when Dick Johnson took over as state auditor, we have had a state auditor who is a CPA for almost 40 consecutive years"[2](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/). She maintained that financial reports most government entities are required to have must be conducted by a licensed CPA working in a CPA firm[7](https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news/2018-09-28/iowa-state-auditor-candidates-at-odds-over-legal-question). Sand, a lawyer, countered that his prosecutorial experience was better suited to a more aggressive agency, and his campaign ran an ad in which several CPAs endorsed him[4](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/) • [7](https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news/2018-09-28/iowa-state-auditor-candidates-at-odds-over-legal-question).
Sand ran an unusually well-funded campaign for the office, raising over $1.7 million and dominating the airwaves with ads both humorous and serious, including spots highlighting his role in the lottery-rigging case and one featuring his wife Christine describing his frugality[4](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/). He also blamed Mosiman for budget oversight issues and for a lack of accountability from the Medicaid managed-care organizations[4](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/).
## Results and significance
Sand received 660,169 votes (49.48%) to Mosiman's 601,320 (45.07%), a margin of about 58,800 votes out of 1,334,279 cast; Perryman took 2.50%[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA). The result made Sand the youngest statewide elected official in Iowa and, according to Iowa Starting Line, the first Democrat to hold the auditor's office in decades[4](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/). The official winner list from the Iowa Secretary of State confirms Sand as the elected Auditor of State for the 2018 general election[8](https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2018/general/Winnerlist.pdf).
The office itself is a constitutional one, elected every four years, and serves as the state's "taxpayers' watchdog," required to audit annually the books, records, and accounts of every department of state government[9](https://www.auditor.iowa.gov/).
Sand went on to win a second statewide election in 2022 and, as of the mid-2020s, has run for governor with a campaign built on overtures to independents and disaffected Republicans; he has said he receives support from voters who also backed Donald Trump[10](https://apnews.com/article/648b1abd8cc3c58f59ac3bce91c95138). In office he promoted Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to the most senior positions in the auditor's office, including individuals who had made campaign contributions to his 2018 opponent[3](https://auditforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FY23_ALL_STAFF-1152239-v2-MAMIAF-SPEAKER_BIOGRAPHIES_-_12_6-7_2023.pdf).
## References
1. [Iowa 2018 General Election, The Green Papers](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/IA)
2. [Campaign Countdown: CPA versus attorney for state auditor, Radio Iowa (October 30, 2018)](https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/10/30/campaign-countdown-cpa-versus-attorney-for-state-auditor/)
3. [State Auditor Rob Sand biography, National State Auditors Forum FY23 speaker biographies](https://auditforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FY23_ALL_STAFF-1152239-v2-MAMIAF-SPEAKER_BIOGRAPHIES_-_12_6-7_2023.pdf)
4. [Rob Sand Defeats Mary Mosiman In State Auditor's Race, Iowa Starting Line (November 6, 2018)](https://iowastartingline.com/news/politics/rob-sand-defeats-mary-mosiman-in-state-auditors-race/)
5. [Ex-state prosecutor announces bid for state auditor, Radio Iowa (November 13, 2017)](https://www.radioiowa.com/2017/11/13/state-prosecutor-announces-bid-for-state-auditor/)
6. [June 5, 2018 Primary Election results, Johnson County, Iowa](https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/2018PrimaryElectionResults.pdf)
7. [Iowa State Auditor Candidates At Odds Over Legal Question, Iowa Public Radio (September 28, 2018)](https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news/2018-09-28/iowa-state-auditor-candidates-at-odds-over-legal-question)
8. [State of Iowa Winner List, General Election 2018, Iowa Secretary of State](https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2018/general/Winnerlist.pdf)
9. [The Taxpayer's Watchdog, Iowa State Auditor](https://www.auditor.iowa.gov/)
10. [Trump dominated rural America. Iowa is testing whether Democrats can win them back, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/648b1abd8cc3c58f59ac3bce91c95138)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United States election events › US state and local election events › US state legislative and down-ballot elections › State financial office elections (treasurer, auditor, comptroller)*
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