Wettach Leads Cournoyer in Iowa Auditor Race
Democrat Taylor Wettach holds a narrow unofficial lead over Republican Chris Cournoyer in the open state auditor contest.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Democrat Taylor Wettach had 50.2% of the vote and Republican Chris Cournoyer had 49.7% with 96 of 99 Iowa counties reporting, according to unofficial results from the Iowa Secretary of State's office. The open seat followed Rob Sand's launch of a bid for governor.
Why it matters
The state auditor oversees audits of cities, counties, universities and school districts and investigates potential fraud, waste and abuse of public money. A narrow margin with several counties still outstanding leaves the outcome of a statewide office in Iowa unsettled.
The figures are unofficial county-reported tallies from the Iowa Secretary of State's office, with Wettach at 50.2% and Cournoyer at 49.7% after 96 of 99 counties reported. Three counties remained outstanding and the results had not yet been certified.
The players
Taylor Wettach
Wettach is a Democratic candidate and trade and national security attorney from Muscatine, Iowa, seeking the state auditor position.
Chris Cournoyer
Cournoyer is a Republican candidate who served as Iowa's lieutenant governor after her 2024 appointment by Gov. Kim Reynolds and previously represented three southeast Iowa counties in the state Senate.
Rob Sand
Sand is an Iowa Democrat whose launch of a bid for governor opened the state auditor seat that the candidates are competing for.
The details
Wettach, a trade and national security attorney from Muscatine, is competing against Cournoyer, who became lieutenant governor after Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed her in 2024. Cournoyer previously represented Clinton, Jackson and Scott counties in the Iowa Senate from 2018 to 2024 and is from LeClaire.
Timeline
2018 to 2024: Cournoyer served in the Iowa Senate representing Clinton, Jackson and Scott counties.
2024: Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Cournoyer as lieutenant governor.
Tuesday night, November 3, 2026: Partial unofficial results showed Wettach leading narrowly.
Political Context
The auditor's office operates under Iowa Code provisions that give it authority to audit cities, counties, universities and school districts and to investigate fraud, waste and abuse of public money. Whoever wins will inherit those statutory audit and investigative powers, which are the core of the office's work.
The winner will oversee audits of Iowa cities, counties, universities and school districts, which affects how local governments account for public money. Residents who depend on those entities for services are affected by the auditor's findings on spending and oversight.
The takeaway
Statewide offices like the auditor can be decided by fractions of a percentage point, so final certified totals matter. Readers should look to official Iowa Secretary of State results once all counties have reported.
Further reading
For more on how statewide races are decided, see Elections coverage across Iowa.
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