Iowa State Auditor Race: Cournoyer and Wettach Clash Over Oversight and Independence

Iowa Picks a New Auditor as Democrats Flip Governor, Senate and Three House Seats

Iowa voters went to the polls on Nov. 3 to choose a new state auditor, and Democrats captured the governor’s office, a U.S. Senate seat and three of the state’s four congressional districts.

The auditor’s race carries weight far beyond the office itself. The state auditor is Iowa’s independent taxpayer watchdog, the office with the power to investigate waste, fraud and abuse across state agencies and local governments. This year’s contest turned on a single question: whether the office should have the investigative authority it held before 2023, or the narrower powers Republican lawmakers granted it that year.

State Auditor Candidates Chris Cournoyer & Taylor Wettach

A 2023 Law Still Divides the Candidates

The sharpest dividing line between Cournoyer and Wettach is Senate File 478, signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2023. The law restricted the auditor’s access to certain government records and replaced the auditor’s ability to take records disputes directly to court with arbitration, Iowa Public Radio reported. Cournoyer, a former state senator who supported the measure, argued it was needed to safeguard sensitive medical and student records while establishing professional limits on investigations.

“I voted for the bill, and I truly believe that it was necessary to ensure that the auditor is maintaining professionalism and being appropriate with their duties as auditor,” Cournoyer said.

Wettach, a Muscatine attorney, argued the law gives agencies being scrutinized too much influence over whether records are released.

“Previously, before this law was put in place, there was a judicial review process,” Wettach said. “If the agency didn’t want to provide information, didn’t think it was proper, well, they’d be able to have that be determined by a judge.”

Wettach pledged to work with lawmakers to restore the office’s previous authority, framing the election as a referendum on independence.

“It really felt to me like this year was a referendum on making sure that this office could be independent, could have the authority it needed, and would actually be able to continue the work of going after corruption and protecting Iowa taxpayers,” he said. Cournoyer. Wettach

Two Different Paths to the Same Promise

Both candidates pledged to root out waste, fraud and abuse, but they proposed different tools. Cournoyer, who narrowly defeated Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas in June’s Republican primary, brings more than 30 years of technology experience and 25 years as a small-business owner, plus service on a school board and in the Iowa Senate. She wants to introduce financial auditing software to spot anomalies and speed up investigations while keeping oversight in the hands of accountants.

This week, State Auditor candidates Chris Cournoyer and Taylor Wettach talk about their experience and how they'd run the auditor's office, if elected to be Iowa's taxpayer watchdog. Watch: https://t.co/by4W0Zv9N9 or tune into @IowaPBS today at noon. pic.twitter.com/uLPy8FxmMz

— https://x.com/IowaPress/status/2116893022986342467

“There’s financial auditing software out there that allows us to broaden and deepen the level of analysis that can really help speed up those audits,” she said.

Cournoyer pointed to Reynolds’ executive-branch reorganization, which consolidated state information technology services and, she said, saved taxpayers $200 million over two years. She further accused Democratic Auditor Rob Sand — now the governor-elect — of turning the office political, especially via his critiques of Iowa’s education savings account program.

Wettach countered that efficiency must not become a pretext for weakening oversight.

Behind the Ballot: An Interview With State Auditor Candidate Chris Cournoyer

“But when we talk about that, that can’t be a code word for let’s gut the office,” he said.

Neither candidate is a certified public accountant, but each argued that professional experience qualifies them to lead. Cournoyer cited managing a small business, overseeing school district finances and working in state government. Wettach, who has never held elected office, pointed to his legal background examining intricate, multi-billion-dollar financial deals and confronting powerful interests, including his choice to depart the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP once the firm struck a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration to sidestep potentially punitive executive orders.

Candidates Propose Reviewing Iowa’s Education Program

Both candidates said they would keep examining Iowa’s education savings account program, which uses taxpayer money for private-school tuition and other approved expenses. Wettach wants greater access to financial records from participating private schools and program administrators.

Auditor and CPAs Cournoyer: I have served office and 30 years in tech, small business owner. Wettach: Office needs to maintain independence. Go after those trying to rig the system.

— https://x.com/IowaPress/status/2113687467522208097

“My view is that if you’re taking public money, you should be held to the same standards of every other public institution,” he said.

Cournoyer maintained that current controls, accreditation requirements and audits already offer protections, though she concurred the auditor ought to keep reviewing the program each year.

“I have no problem auditing the educational savings account program,” she said.

Wettach also wants scrutiny of corporate tax incentives, uncollected fines, wage theft and worker misclassification. Each candidate supports broadening aid to smaller local governments, such as providing accounting expertise and technology to avert financial difficulties. Cournoyer pledged to continue and expand Sand’s Public Innovations and Efficiencies program, which encourages governments to share cost-saving practices. With Sand moving to the governor’s office, Wettach pledged to scrutinize a Democratic administration as aggressively as a Republican one and to keep Sand’s practice of involving Democratic, Republican and independent deputies in reviewing office decisions.

Iowa State Auditor Race: Cournoyer and Wettach Clash Over Oversight and Independence — Photo: 270towin.com

A Sweep Up Top, an Open Question Below

KCCI reported that Democrat Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn in the governor’s race, Josh Turek won the U.S. Senate seat, and Democrats took three of the state’s four congressional districts: Christina Bohannan in the 1st, Lindsay James in the 2nd and Sarah Trone Garriott in the 3rd, while Republican Chris McGowan held the 4th. National results trackers such as 270toWin were still tabulating statewide races as the count continued.

Whoever wins the auditor’s office on Nov. 3 will inherit a state government reshaped overnight — a new Democratic governor and a Legislature still deciding how much investigative power the watchdog should actually have.