Democrat Rob Sand has withdrawn from the governor's debate with Republican Zach Lahn set for Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. on Iowa PBS, Radio Iowa reported. As of Wednesday morning, the Iowa PBS debate page said the debate "may be rescheduled" and gave no new date.

New campaign finance reports show Lahn raised more in the latest period. Sand has much more cash left.

Why the debate is off

Sand's brother-in-law, Walter Lauridsen II, 42, died Thursday, Oct. 15, after being struck by a vehicle on a highway in southern Iowa, according to Radio Iowa and KCRG.

Emma O'Brien, Sand's deputy campaign manager, said: "Rob Sand is focused on his family during this difficult time." She said the campaign is in contact with Lahn's campaign on rescheduling.

Lahn's campaign said in a statement: "We completely understand and are supportive of his decision." It said, "We will work with the station on rescheduling," and added, "Some things are bigger than politics," Radio Iowa reported.

What comes next

The next debate is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, hosted by KCRG-TV9 and The Gazette, according to KCRG's schedule. KCRG reported Oct. 19 that it is still scheduled.

The money

The reports were filed Monday, Oct. 19, with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and cover July 15 through Oct. 14, Iowa Public Radio reported.

Lahn raised about $16.9 million in cash contributions, about $561,000 more than Sand's $16.3 million. Sand spent $28.9 million and Lahn spent $17.5 million. Sand began the period with nearly $18 million and Lahn with about $1 million.

Sand ended with $5.35 million on hand and no debt. Lahn ended with about $403,000 on hand and listed $2.5 million in outstanding loans and nearly $276,000 in unpaid bills. Earlier reports by PolitiFact and Little Village said Lahn loaned his own campaign $2.5 million. The new coverage does not say who holds the outstanding loans.

Where the money came from

RGA Right Direction PAC, which is affiliated with the Republican Governors Association, gave Lahn $11.8 million, about 70% of his cash contributions. The Republican Party of Iowa gave him $1.72 million. MAHA Action PAC gave him $1 million on Sept. 16, and on Oct. 15, after the cutoff, announced a $1.5 million donation, IPR reported.

The Democratic Governors Association gave Sand $5.5 million, about a third of his cash contributions (a TFS News calculation from the reported totals). His wife, Christine Sand, his mother-in-law, Nancy Lauridsen, and another brother-in-law, Augustine Lauridsen, gave $1.25 million combined, IPR reported.

Radio Iowa reported that Sand had nearly 89,000 individual donations and Lahn's report shows about 5,000 donors. The figures count different things, donations and donors, so they are not a direct comparison.

Polling

A Marist Poll released Oct. 15 and taken Oct. 8 to 11 found Sand at 52% and Lahn at 45% among likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 6.6 points. The margin applies to each candidate's share. Among registered voters, Sand led by 11 points, plus or minus 4.5.

Other polls taken in early October also showed Sand ahead among likely voters, by 4 to 12 points, according to a Newsweek roundup. YouGov had Sand at 50% and Lahn at 44%.