Branstad wins in Iowa

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The candidate endorsed by Sarah Palin has won the Republican nomination for governor in Iowa. The Cedar Rapids Gazette has the story:

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.

- JP

Shane Vander Hart: Thoughts on the Branstad Endorsement

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Our friend and colleague Shane Vander Hart, who regularly blogs from Iowa at Caffeinated Thoughts, had one of his posts published Monday on the Des Moines Register blog. Although he's a Rod Roberts backer, Shane says he understands Sarah Palin's endorsement of Terry Branstad in the Iowa GOP governor's race:

I’m not buying into the meme that Governor Palin committed political suicide... People were saying that after she endorsed Rand Paul in the Kentucky Senate Primary, and he won in a landslide. Obviously Republican voters in Kentucky disagree with that sentiment. Even James Dobson (who endorsed Vander Plaats) changed his endorsement from Trey Grayson to Rand Paul.

You hear it from some Chuck DeVore supporters in the California Senate Primary when she endorsed Carly Fiorina. Fiorina may not be as conservative as DeVore, but she is conservative. The latest poll shows her leading by double digits the RINO in the race, Tom Campbell (who is also ahead of DeVore in the polls). Should DeVore win that primary it is unlikely he could beat Senator Barbara Boxer.

So cries that she “sold out” don’t wash with me. Sure she campaigned for Senator John McCain, did you really think she wouldn’t? She was also one of the first to endorse Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the NY 23 special election since Dede Scozzafava was more liberal than the Democratic candidate. She’s been making a number of good endorsements. Also, she didn’t endorse the incumbent pro-abortion Republican Senator in her own state of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, she endorsed Joe Miller instead.

Shane points out that even though Terry Branstad isn't the most conservative candidate in the race, he advocates cutting taxes and state spending, is prolife, and is a far sight better than incumbent Chet Culver, which is why Shane says he would have no problem voting for Branstad in the general should he win the GOP primary:

So is her political career in shambles? How many people have said that in the past, but she keeps coming back? If Branstad wins I doubt this hurts her at all. While she likely wouldn’t be supported by campaign surrogates, it could win her some favor by those who voted for him. I also think most people don’t base their choice on who they will vote for President on an endorsement made two years before. That would be pretty shallow. Those who are saying they won’t vote for her (if she even runs) because of this, likely weren’t going to vote for her anyway.

But, I think ultimately this endorsement was about seeing Chet Culver get beat, not a possible 2012 run. Otherwise I think she would have been more invested in it.

Shane's bottom line: He's "not going to throw Sarah Palin under the bus" because of an endorsement he doesn't agree with. If only more who consider themselves conservatives were capable of such rational thought. Read his full post here.

Related: Dave Davidson at The Iowa Republican:

Nothing indicates that Vander Plaats will win the nomination on Tuesday night. For all of the persistence that Vander Plaats has shown, he needs more than Chuck Norris. He needs a miracle.

- JP

Ambinder: Why Sarah Palin Endorsed Branstad

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The Atlantic's politics editor Marc Ambinder, in his Friday column, says that unless there are no "stunning surprises" next week, Terry Branstad is going to be the next governor of Iowa:

Indeed, even as the last previous Republican gubernatorial nominee ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Branstad and his team would have quite a bit of influence over the field operation that a candidate Sarah Palin would need to recruit to win there

If you're thinking about running for president, and I think Palin really is thinking about running for president, you don't get on the wrong side of the guy who will probably be governor during the caucuses by endorsing his opponent, no matter how conservative and Tea Partyish Bob Vander Plaats seems to be.

Ambinder points out that Vander Plaats was Mike Huckabee's campaign co-chair in 2008, and Huck Spin continues to be the Sioux City businessman's most high-profile supporter.

Branstad campaign spokesman Tim Albrecht released the following statement Thursday on Gov. Palin’s endorsement:

“Sarah Palin joins thousands of Iowans in recognizing that Terry Branstad is the honest, conservative leader Iowa needs to fix Gov. Culver’s mismanagement of Iowa’s budget. Terry Branstad signed the state’s largest tax cut in history, left the state with a $900 million surplus and led the state to record employment. She, along with conservatives across the state, recognize Terry Branstad’s strong record of leadership in Iowa.

“This latest endorsement further demonstrates the broad base of support that Gov. Branstad continues to build in his campaign for governor.”

According to RadioIowa.com, a poll released late Thursday by KCCI-TV in Des Moines, has Branstad leading Vander Plaats by 15 percent, but 15 percent of the poll's sample say they are still undecided. The Iowa primary is next Tuesday.

- JP

Sarah Palin endorses Terry Branstad in Iowa race for governor

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Gov. Palin endorsed Terry Branstad in the Iowa Republican primary race for governor Thursday. She made the announcement on her Facebook Notes page:

Terry Branstad for Iowa

Iowa, your great state’s motto is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.” That motto will be well served by voting for Terry Branstad for governor next Tuesday!

Please join me in supporting Governor Branstad’s campaign. Visit his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

- Sarah Palin

Branstad was the youngest and longest-serving governor in Iowa's history, holding the office from 1983 to 1999. More recently, he was President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. The popular Branstad is considered the front runner in the GOP primary contest, and he polls better in hypothetical match ups against incumbent Democrat Governor Chet Culver than either of his main Republican opponents in the primary race, State Rep. Rod Roberts and businessman Bob Vander Plaats.

- JP