Man in the middle: Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand is no fan of parties

Rob Sand wants you to know that he wishes he weren’t a Democrat. Pacing the hardwood floor of the Starlight Ballroom at the Davenport, Iowa, fairgrounds on a recent weeknight, the gubernatorial candidate opens his pitch to 800 or so assembled voters by explaining that he only registered with a political party because it was necessary to vote in nomination races. “Our political system is broken, basically, because it’s run by two private clubs,” he says to applause. “A lot of the people in leadership of both of those parties are more interested in beating up on each other than…