Iowa's only Democrat in statewide office in the hunt for a party comeback

With another campaign season heating up and all eyes on Iowa before Monday's Republican caucuses, what's happened to the Democrats?

It turns out the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Iowa could be found up a tree outside Des Moines early on a frigid January morning.

State auditor and avid bowhunter Rob Sand stays true to the slogan on his bumper sticker: «ROB SANDS FINDS BUCKS.»

«I want to talk to everybody. I want every perspective on the decisions that we make in the auditor's office» regardless of their party affiliation, he says. «To me, this is public service. And I think that's how we're supposed to do it, even if it isn't very popular right now.»

The 41-year-old native of Decorah explains his strategy is «just tell people who I am and make sure that they know what I believe.» Sand says he's a Hawkeye above all else. «I grew up in a small town. My faith is really important to me, and so I talk about it. I like to hunt. I like to fish. I own guns. I do think that those are things that make me a little bit easier to place in Iowa for Iowans.»

With another caucus day around the corner, Iowa is known for setting the tone in presidential elections. In 2008, a little-known Democratic senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, stole the national spotlight after a surprise Iowa Democratic caucuses win, giving him momentum in a tight race. Twelve years later, real estate magnate Donald Trump clinched a win in the Republican caucus.

The dramatic swing of political ideology, Sand explains, is why he believes Iowa can't be put into a box. «The reality is there were a lot of people who voted for both of them. We're going to have to listen to those people and figure out what it was that made you vote for Barack Obama and then vote