Terry Branstad

Terry Branstad
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad speaking in Des Moines, Iowa on April 1, 2011
39th and 42nd Governor of Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2011
Lieutenant	Kim Reynolds
Preceded by	Chet Culver
In office January 14, 1983 – January 15, 1999
Lieutenant	Robert Anderson Jo Ann Zimmerman Joy Corning
Preceded by	Robert Ray
Succeeded by	Tom Vilsack
41st Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
In office January 12, 1979 – January 14, 1983
Governor	Robert Ray
Preceded by	Arthur A. Neu
Succeeded by	Robert Anderson
Personal details
Born	(1946-11-17) November 17, 1946 Leland, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Chris Branstad
Residence	Terrace Hill (official) Boone, Iowa (personal)
Alma mater	University of Iowa Drake University
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1969–1971
Awards	Army Commendation Medal

Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician who is the 42nd and current governor of Iowa since January 2011. Branstad was the 39th governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the longest-serving governor in Iowa's history and the second-longest serving governor in the history of the United States, behind George Clinton of New York.

In 2010, he prevailed in a three-way primary and won the Republican nomination to run again for governor. He faced incumbent Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, and four third party candidates on November 2, 2010. He won the general election in November, defeating Culver by 52.9% to 43.1%.

Branstad entered the 2010 race as the front runner for both the primary and general elections. Independent polling in 2009 indicated that his approval ratings hovered in the 70% range. He was widely seen as the front runner for the Republican nomination and had wide leads in aggregate polling against Culver. He won the Republican primary with 50.4% of the popular vote, 9.5 percentage points ahead of his nearest competitor.

Early life

Born to a Norwegian-American Lutheran farming family in Leland, Iowa, Branstad received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and his law degree from Drake University Law School. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. In 1989, he was named an honorary member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity at Iowa State University.

Early political career

Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 and served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1979 to 1983, when he was elected Governor of Iowa.

Governor of Iowa (1983–1999)

Branstad attends the recommissioning ceremony for the USS Iowa, April 28, 1984.

When elected governor at age 36, Branstad was the youngest chief executive in Iowa's history and when he left office, was Iowa's longest-serving governor. He served as Chair of the National Governors Association during 1989–1990, and was Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. In 1997, he chaired the Education Commission of the States, the Republican Governors Association, and the Governors' Ethanol Coalition.

In 1991, Branstad ignored binding arbitration with employees of the State of Iowa's labor unions by vetoing a salary bill, was taken to court, and lost later in appeals in the state court system (AFSCME Iowa Council 61 et al., v. Branstad). In 1983, he vetoed a bill that would allow a state lottery. Iowa’s unemployment rate went from 8.5% when he took office to a record low 2.5% by the time he left in 1999. In his first year as Governor, the state budget had a $90 million deficit. It took several years until the budget was balanced. He claimed that he didn’t have enough support in the legislature to approve budget reforms until 1992. By 1999, Iowa had an unprecedented $900 million budget surplus.

Post-gubernatorial career

Branstad focused most of his efforts on endeavors outside of politics when he left office at the beginning of 1999. He founded Branstad and Associates, LLC and was also a partner in the firm of Kaufman, Pattee, Branstad & Miller, and a financial advisor for Robert W. Baird and Co.

In August 2003, Branstad accepted an offer from Des Moines University to become its president. On October 16, 2009, he announced his retirement from Des Moines University in order to run again for governor.

Branstad was appointed by President George W. Bush to chair the President's Commission for Excellence in Special Education. The commission was charged with developing a plan to improve the educational performance of students with disabilities. After completing his work with the commission in 2003, he was asked to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for Positive Action for Teen Health, or PATH. The advisory council encourages action toward detecting adolescent mental illness. In April 2003, he was named to serve as a public member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which comprises both professional and public members who address such issues as student recruitment and professional ethics for CPAs.^{[citation needed]}

Branstad serves on the boards of, among others, Conmed Health Management Inc, American Future Fund, Iowa Health System, Liberty Bank, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Living History Farms.

Governor of Iowa (2011–present)

Branstad's 2010 campaign logo

See also: Iowa gubernatorial election, 2010

On August 2, 2009, the Des Moines Register reported that Branstad was actively considering running for the Republican nomination for governor. On October 7, 2009, Branstad filed papers to run for Iowa Governor in the 2010 election. According to a poll conducted in September 2009 by The Des Moines Register, he maintained a 70% favorability rating from Iowans compared to Governor Chet Culver's rating of 50%.

On Tuesday June 8, 2010 Branstad won the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Iowa, but when opposing candidate Bob Vander Plaats conceded, he did not endorse Branstad.

The Des Moines Tea Party gave Branstad a "no" on their report card on "criteria for acceptance" and said Branstad had "a history of raising taxes, [was] not a true conservative, and increased the size of government every year he held office, [and] built a state-owned phone company." Branstad was accused by former Iowa State Auditor Richard Johnson of keeping "two sets of books" on the state budget when he was governor. Johnson said Branstad needed to be "transparent" to Iowa voters about the reporting of Iowa's finances during his tenure as governor. Branstad came at odds with transparency again, when he signed a bill into law that made it illegal to carry out undercover investigations, that expose animal cruelty in farming factories.

Electoral history

• 1982 election for Governor of Iowa:

1982 General Election:

• Terry Branstad (R), 52.8%
• Roxanne Conlin (D), 46.6%

• 1986 election for Governor of Iowa:

1986 General Election:

• Terrie Branstad (R), 51.9%
• Lowell Junkins (D), 48.0%

• 1990 election for Governor of Iowa:

1990 General Election:

• Terry Branstad (R), 60.6%
• Donald Avenson (D), 38.8%

• 1994 election for Governor of Iowa:

Republican Primary

• Terry Branstad (R), 51.8%
• Fred Grandy (R), 48.1%

1994 General Election:

• Terry Branstad (R), 56.8%
• Bonnie Campbell (D), 41.6%

• 2010 election for Governor of Iowa:

Republican Primary

• Terry Branstad (R), 114,290 votes, 50.4%
• Bob Vander Plaats (R), 92,759, 40.9%
• Rod Roberts (R), 19,916, 8.8%

2010 General Election:

• Terry Branstad (R), 52.9%
• Chet Culver (D), 43.1%

External links

• Governor Terry Branstad official Iowa government site
• Branstad Reynolds 2010 official campaign site
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
• Profile at Notable Names Database

Political offices
Preceded by Arthur A. Neu	Lieutenant Governor of Iowa 1979–1983	Succeeded by Robert Anderson
Preceded by Robert Ray	Governor of Iowa 1983–1999	Succeeded by Tom Vilsack
Preceded by Gerald Baliles	Chairperson of the National Governors Association 1989–1990	Succeeded by Booth Gardner
Preceded by Chet Culver	Governor of Iowa 2011–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Robert Ray	Republican nominee for Governor of Iowa 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994	Succeeded by Jim Lightfoot
Preceded by Jim Nussle	Republican nominee for Governor of Iowa 2010	Most recent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President	Order of Precedence of the United States Within Iowa	Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held
		Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives
Preceded by Rick Perry as Governor of Texas	Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Iowa	Succeeded by Scott Walker as Governor of Wisconsin