Republican Brad Sherman, a pastor and former state representative who launched a campaign for governor this week, said he feels called to seek the office in 2026 — but he doesn’t see his bid as an attack on incumbent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
“It’s not based on who’s running and who isn’t running,” he told the Des Moines Register. “… It just seemed like God was confirming over and over this is what we needed to do.”
Sherman, a pastor from Williamsburg, was an early endorser of Republican President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 GOP presidential caucuses.
He has been involved in pastoral leadership and church ministry in Iowa for four decades and has worked with various anti-abortion organizations, according to his campaign website.
More: Former Republican state representative to challenge Kim Reynolds for Iowa governor seat
Reynolds has not officially said whether she plans to seek reelection to a third full term in 2026, but she hinted Tuesday that another campaign could be in the works.
“Stay tuned,” she told reporters during a news conference. “There might be some news coming, just not today.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds gives an update on her rural health care bill on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
She said she isn’t necessarily counting on an endorsement from Trump.
“We’ll have to see, but I’m going to run on my record,” Reynolds said. “I mean, I would love it, but I’m running on my record. I’ve been running on what we’ve done for Iowa since I’ve been elected, and I’m proud of that record. We’ve gotten a lot done in a short time.”
More: Is she running? Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds drops a big hint on whether she will seek 3rd term
Sherman said he spoke with Reynolds late last year about his intention to run for governor.
He said that, at that time, Reynolds didn’t commit to running for reelection either.
“I told her that I just wanted to be respectful to her,” he said. “It’s not because I have some big vendetta against her. We obviously have some different views on some things. But I told her that I was running, and I wanted her to hear it from me instead of a rumor. So we had a pretty good conversation on that.”
Eminent domain stance separates Sherman, Reynolds
One of the issues where Sherman sees his biggest divide with Reynolds is on the use of eminent domain to help build proposed carbon capture pipelines.
“I don’t believe eminent domain should be used for a private company when the product — in this case, CO2 — is not a public utility,” he said.
More: Brad Sherman wants to be the next governor of Iowa. What to expect from his campaign:
Reynolds has said eminent domain should be used as a last resort.
But Sherman said he would be more outspoken in opposing its use.
“The governor’s office is not a dictatorship. You can’t just dictate what your will is,” he said. “But you can certainly speak up. You can make your will known.”
Sherman said he would also advocate for a bill limiting the governor’s ability to use emergency powers after seeing how the state managed the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We realized that (shutdowns) probably weren’t necessary, at least after a period of time, but they continued,” he said. “And I know Iowa was better than most states, but the bottom line is that was a real violation of personal rights.”
But he said he doesn’t fault Reynolds for that.
“It started, and nobody knew what it was,” he said. “I do think it would be refreshing to hear politicians at times say, you know, ‘We didn’t understand this like we should have.’ But sometimes those things just get ignored.”
Sherman said other top issues for his campaign would include reducing property taxes.
“We work all of our lives to pay off our mortgage for our homes, and then we have to rent our home from the government, basically,” he said. “And so I think it would be a good idea if possibly we could find a way to make our primary homes tax free once we reach retirement age or something. That’s something I’m looking into.”
The primary election is scheduled for June 2, 2026.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: GOP governor hopeful Brad Sherman: No ‘vendetta’ against Kim Reynolds
