Posted on 06/08/2010 8:44:36 PM PDT by iowamark
Former Gov. Terry Branstad completed the first phase of his political comeback Tuesday by scoring a solid victory over Bob Vander Plaats and Rod Roberts in a hard-fought three-way primary battle for the 2010 GOP gubernatorial nomination.
The Associated Press declared Branstad the winner at about 10:30 p.m. The next hurdle standing in his way is first-term Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, who was unopposed Tuesday in his bid to win re-election in the November general election.
With 67 percent of 1,873 precincts reporting, Branstad, 63, of rural Boone, held a comfortable lead with 50.4 percent of the Republican ballots, while challengers Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City garnered 40.3 percent and Rod Roberts of Carroll stood at 9.2 percent. Early returns showed a fairly tight race but Branstad slowly pulled away as the night progressed, stretching his lead to over 16,000 votes.
Tuesday’s gubernatorial balloting was viewed as a clash among the party’s business-oriented conservatives and centrists who backed Branstad and the religious, social and tea party conservatives who primarily split their support between Vander Plaats, 47, a Sioux City business consultant making his third bid for governor, and Roberts, 52, a five-term state representative making his first run at statewide office.
Branstad, who previously served four terms as Iowa governor from 1983 to 1999, announced in October he was stepping down as president of Des Moines University to re-enter the political arena with hopes of defeating Culver in the fall and charting a new course of fiscal responsibility by cutting corporate and property taxes, easing business regulations to grow private-sector jobs, raising Iowans’ income levels, and shrinking state government.
The Boone County lawyer, who previously served as a state representative and lieutenant governor, successfully won his 11th straight contested election by amassing more than $3 million in campaign contributions. He used that fundraising advantage to fend off criticism from Vander Plaats and from a separate outside group led by a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman produced commercials and mailings attacking him as a liberal for raising taxes and growing government during his previous stint as governor.
During the campaign, Vander Plaats focused on the marriage issue as the defining difference in the race, noting that he was the only candidate who pledged that on his first day in office he would issue an executive order to halt same-sex marriages legalized via an Iowa Supreme Court decision until the Legislature addressed the issue or authorized a public vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman.
Vander Plaats’ rivals supported the vote on a constitutional amendment, but Branstad questioned whether the governor has the authority to undo a Supreme Court ruling by executive order and Roberts said he would veto budget bills that lawmakers would pass and send to him until they addressed the marriage amendment.
Branstad succeeded in bucking an anti-political establishment mood by touting his experience and leadership skills that drew endorsements from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the state’s largest tax relief organization.
Vander Plaats countered with endorsements from an array of social conservatives, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee – winner of the 2008 GOP presidential caucuses — author and radio commentator James Dobson and action-movie star and martial arts champion Chuck Norris. However, the surprise upset he predicted in run up to Tuesday’s voting fell short.
Roberts ran a relatively low-key campaign given his difficulty in raising money once Branstad declared his candidacy. He focused on his ability to draw independents and conservative Democrats with his mild-mannered style on building consensus.
Looks to be a very good night for candidates endorsed by Sarah Palin.
Big loss for Mike Huckleberry.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/governor/ia/iowa_governor_branstad_vs_culver-1200.html#polls
“”Polling Data
Poll Date Sample Branstad (R) Culver (D) Spread
RCP Average 4/29 - 5/27 — 51.0 38.7 Branstad +12.3
PPP (D) 5/25 - 5/27 1277 LV 52 37 Branstad +15
Research 2000 5/3 - 5/5 600 LV 48 41 Branstad +7
Rasmussen Reports 4/29 - 4/29 500 LV 53 38 Branstad +15
Rasmussen Reports 3/17 - 3/17 500 LV 52 36 Branstad +16
Research 2000 2/15 - 2/17 600 LV 54 38 Branstad +16
Des Moines Register 1/31 - 2/3 531 LV 53 33 Branstad +20””
And Branstad was also endorsed by super-RINO Mitt Romney.
These people are despicable and perhaps have helped Branstad for the general. The fact he still won by ten percentage points is remarkable. The guy is Super Man.
Think what you want about Branstad, but he WILL beat Culver in the general. Culver is no longer as popular as he once was, and his popularity is slipping day by day. Branstad is well liked and he has a solid record to run on. Iowa will have a Republican governor again.
Say bye-bye, Culver.
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