2014 Iowa gubernatorial election

The 2014 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Iowa. Republican incumbent Terry Branstad ran for reelection to a sixth overall and second consecutive four-year term.[1] Branstad went on to win a historic sixth term as governor by defeating Democratic challenger and State Senator Jack Hatch, and on December 14, 2015, he became the longest-serving governor in American history. He won 59.1% of the popular vote to Hatch's 37.3%, and carried every county in the state except Johnson.

See also: 2014 Iowa elections

2014 Iowa gubernatorial election

November 4, 2014

Nominee Terry Branstad Jack Hatch Party Republican Democratic Running mate Kim Reynolds Monica Vernon Popular vote 666,032 420,787 Percentage 59.0% 37.3%

County Results Brandstad:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Hatch:      50–60%

Governor before election Terry Branstad Republican Elected Governor Terry Branstad Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Terry Branstad, incumbent Governor[1]
• Tom Hoefling, political activist and America's Party and American Independent Party nominee for president in 2012[2]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Terry Branstad	Tom Hoefling	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	May 15–19, 2014	303	± 3.3%	66%	12%	22%
Loras College	April 7–8, 2014	600	± 4.0%	80%	4%	14%
Suffolk University	April 3–8, 2014	224	± 6.6%	70%	9%	21%
Public Policy Polling	February 20–23, 2014	283	± 5.8%	70%	11%	18%

Results

Republican primary results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Terry Branstad (incumbent)	129,752	83.0
	Republican	Tom Hoefling	26,299	16.8
	Republican	Write-In	294	0.2
Total votes			156,275	100

Democratic primary

Narcisse was disqualified from appearing on the ballot in the Democratic primary following a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court[4] that upheld a lower court decision that held that Narcisse had not submitted enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot for the primary election. Narcisse continued his campaign and declared his intention to run for the nomination as a write-in candidate.[5] When he was unsuccessful, he announced that he would be running in the general election as the nominee of the Iowa Party.[6][7]

Candidates

Declared

• Jack Hatch, state senator[8]
• Jonathan Narcisse, former member of the Des Moines School Board and Iowa Party nominee for governor in 2010[9]

Withdrew

• Paul Dahl, bus driver, retail sales associate, former librarian and candidate for Iowa's 5th congressional district in 1994[10]
• Tyler Olson, state representative and former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party[11]

Declined

• Frank Cownie, Mayor of Des Moines[12]
• Chet Culver, former governor[13]
• Jeff Danielson, state senator[14]
• Michael Fitzgerald, state treasurer[15]
• Michael Gronstal, majority leader of the Iowa Senate and chairman of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee[16]
• Fred Hubbell, insurance executive[12][17]
• Pam Jochum, president of the Iowa Senate[16]
• Bob Krause, former state representative, nominee for state treasurer in 1978, candidate for Mayor of Waterloo in 1982 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010[18]
• Janet Petersen, state senator[19]
• Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture and former governor[20]

Endorsements

Jack Hatch

Ako Abdul-Samad, state representative[21] Marti Anderson, state representative[21] Dennis Black, state senator[22] Leonard Boswell, former U.S. Representative[22] Joe Bolkcom, state senator[21] Thomas G. Courtney, state senator[21] Preston Daniels, former mayor of Des Moines[21] Dick Dearden, state senator[22] John Forbes, state representative[22] Ruth Ann Gaines, state representative[22] Fred Hubbell, insurance executive[17] Bruce Hunter, state representative[21] Bob Krause, former state representative, nominee for state treasurer in 1978, candidate for Mayor of Waterloo in 1982 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010[18] Matt McCoy, state senator[23] Steve Sodders, state senator[22] Joe Seng, state senator[22] Rich Taylor, state senator[22] Frank Wood, state representative[22]

Tyler Olson

Individuals Bruce Bearinger, state representative[21] Dennis Cohoon, state representative[21] Jeff Danielson, state senator[21][24] David Dawson, state representative[21] Nancy Dunkel, state representative[21] Bob Dvorsky, state senator[21][25] Sue Dvorsky, former chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party[26] Chris Hall, state representative[21] Rob Hogg, state senator[21][27] Wally Horn, state senator[21] David Jacoby, state representative[21] Jerry Kearns, state representative[21] Dan Kelley, state representative[28] Liz Mathis, state senator[21] Helen Miller, state representative[21] Dan Muhlbauer, state representative[21] Jo Oldson, state representative[21] Rick Olson, state representative[21] Scott Ourth, state representative[21] Janet Petersen, state senator[21][27][29] Todd Prichard, state representative[21] Joe Riding, state representative[21] Patti Ruff, state representative[21] Kirsten Running-Marquardt, state representative[21] Brian Schoenjahn, state senator[21] Art Staed, state representative[21] Sharon S. Steckman, state representative[21][27] Sally Stutsman, state representative[21] Todd Taylor, state representative[21] Roger Thomas, state representative[21] Mary Wolfe, state representative[21] Organizations American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 61[30] Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 110[31]

Results

Democratic primary results[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Hatch	60,385	99.2
	Democratic	Write-in	466	0.8
Total votes			60,851	100

General election

Candidates

• Terry Branstad (Republican), incumbent governor

• Running mate: Kim Reynolds, incumbent lieutenant governor

• Jack Hatch (Democratic), state senator

• Running mate: Monica Vernon, Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman[32]

• Jim Hennager (New Independent Party), administrator, former city councillor and Reform Party nominee for governor in 1998[33]

• Running mate: Mary Krieg

• Lee Hieb (Libertarian), orthopedic surgeon[34]

• Running mate: Ryan Ketelsen, businessman[34]

• Jonathan Narcisse (Iowa Party), former member of the Des Moines School Board and nominee for governor in 2010[6][7][9]

• Running mate: Michael Richards, semi-retired businessman[35]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 20, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[36]	Likely R	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[37]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[38]	Safe R	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[39]	Safe R	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Terry Branstad (R)	Jack Hatch (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	November 1–3, 2014	1,265	± 2.8%	51%	40%	5%[40]	5%
				54%	43%	—	4%
Quinnipiac University	October 28–November 2, 2014	778	± 3.5%	52%	41%	2%	6%
Iowa Poll	October 28–31, 2014	701	± 3.7%	59%	35%	2%	4%
YouGov	October 25–31, 2014	1,112	± 4.4%	49%	35%	4%	13%
Fox News	October 28–30, 2014	911	± 3%	53%	36%	5%	6%
Reuters/Ipsos	October 23–29, 2014	1,129	± 3.3%	57%	34%	4%	5%
Quinnipiac	October 22–27, 2014	817	± 3.4%	56%	37%	2%	5%
Loras College	October 21–24, 2014	1,121	± 2.93%	54.9%	34.1%	1.5%	9.4%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	2,322	± 3%	50%	37%	0%	13%
NBC News/Marist	October 18–22, 2014	772 LV	± 3.5%	59%	36%	2%	4%
		1,052 RV	± 3%	58%	34%	2%	6%
Gravis Marketing	October 20–21, 2014	964	± 3%	53%	43%	—	4%
Monmouth University	October 18–21, 2014	423	± 4.8%	58%	37%	3%	2%
Quinnipiac University	October 15–21, 2014	964	± 3.2%	55%	37%	2%	5%
Suffolk University	October 11–14, 2014	500	± 4.4%	53.6%	37.2%	2.6%[41]	6.6%
Quinnipiac University	October 8–13, 2014	967	± 3.2%	54%	39%	1%	6%
The Iowa Poll	October 3–8, 2014	1,000	± 3.1%	54%	39%	—	4%
Magellan	October 3, 2014	1,299	± 2.8%	54.7%	38.7%	—	6.5%
NBC News/Marist	September 27–October 1, 2014	778 LV	± 3.5%	58%	36%	1%	5%
		1,093 RV	± 3%	58%	35%	1%	6%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20–October 1, 2014	2,359	± 2%	52%	39%	0%	9%
Gravis Marketing	September 29–30, 2014	522	± 4%	51%	43%	—	6%
Public Policy Polling	September 25–28, 2014	1,192	± 2.8%	50%	36%	4%[42]	9%
				52%	38%	—	10%
Iowa Poll	September 21–24, 2014	546	± 4.2%	48%	34%	6%[43]	12%
Rasmussen Reports	September 17–18, 2014	750	± 4%	46%	40%	3%	10%
FOX News	September 14–16, 2014	600	± 4%	50%	37%	4%	8%
Quinnipiac	September 10–15, 2014	1,167	± 2.9%	60%	37%	1%	3%
Loras College	September 2–5, 2014	1,200	± 2.82%	55.5%	33.5%	—	11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18–September 2, 2014	1,764	± 3%	51%	38%	1%	10%
Suffolk	August 23–26, 2014	500	± 4%	47%	35.4%	1.6%[44]	16%
Public Policy Polling	August 22–24, 2014	915	± 3.2%	48%	35%	5%[40]	12%
				50%	37%	—	13%
Rasmussen Reports	August 11–12, 2014	750	± 4%	52%	35%	6%	7%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	2,044	± 2.7%	51%	40%	1%	8%
Gravis Marketing	July 17–18, 2014	1,179	± 3%	50%	42%	—	9%
NBC News/Marist	July 7–13, 2014	1,599	± 2.5%	53%	38%	1%	9%
Quinnipiac	June 12–16, 2014	1,277	± 2.7%	47%	38%	1%	14%
Vox Populi Polling	June 4–5, 2014	665	± 3.8%	51%	40%	—	9%
Loras College	June 4–5, 2014	600	± 4%	51.7%	37.8%	—	10.5%
Rasmussen Reports	June 4–5, 2014	750	± 4%	49%	40%	2%	8%
Global Strategy Group	May 13–15, 2014	602	± 4%	47%	40%	—	13%
Public Policy Polling	May 15–19, 2014	914	± 3.3%	48%	40%	—	12%
Victory Enterprises	April 30–May 1, 2014	400	± 4.9%	47.8%	32.8%	—	19.5%
Hickman Analytics	April 24–30	500	± 4.4%	50%	40%	—	10%
Vox Populi Polling	April 22–24, 2014	600	± 4%	45%	43%	—	12%
Public Policy Polling	April 19–20, 2014	677	± 3.8%	43%	38%	—	19%
Suffolk University	April 3–8, 2014	800	± 3.5%	42.38%	32.13%	1.63%[45]	23.88%
Quinnipiac	March 5–10, 2014	1,411	± 2.6%	46%	35%	1%	17%
Selzer & Co.	February 23–26, 2014	703	± 3.7%	44%	29%	—	27%
Public Policy Polling	February 20–23, 2014	869	± 3.3%	48%	36%	—	15%
Quinnipiac	December 10–15, 2013	1,617	± 2.4%	49%	33%	1%	17%
Selzer & Co.	December 8–11, 2013	325	± ?%	52%	29%	8%	11%
Public Policy Polling	July 5–7, 2013	668	± 3.8%	47%	35%	—	18%
Selzer & Co.	June 2–5, 2013	591	± 4%	55%	27%	9%	9%
Public Policy Polling	February 1–3, 2013	846	± %	48%	33%	—	19%

Results

2014 Iowa gubernatorial election[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Terry Branstad (incumbent) / Kim Reynolds (incumbent)	666,032	58.99%	+6.18%
	Democratic	Jack Hatch / Monica Vernon	420,787	37.27%	-5.94%
	Libertarian	Lee Deakins Hieb / Tim Watson	20,321	1.80%	+0.52%
	Independent	Jim Hennager / Mary Margaret Krieg	10,582	0.94%	N/A
	Iowa	Jonathan R. Narcisse / Michael L. Richards	10,240	0.91%	-0.95%
	n/a	Write-ins	1,095	0.09%	-0.16%
Total votes			'1,129,057'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. "Governor Terry Branstad announces gubernatorial run, tours Iowa". KWWL. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
2. "HAYWORTH: Republican Hoefling aiming to challenge Branstad in 2014". Sioux City Journal. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
3. "Official Iowa Secretary of State Elections Results". Iowa Secretary of State. June 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
4. Iowa Supreme Court (March 31, 2014). "Opinion in Narcisse v. Schultz, No. 14-0512" (pdf). Retrieved April 3, 2014.
5. Bleeding Heartland (April 1, 2014). "IA-Gov: Iowa Supreme Court rejects Narcisse bid for spot on primary ballot". Bleeding Heartland. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
6. The Des Moines Register (July 30, 2014). "Jonathan Narcisse to run for governor as third-party candidate". Retrieved September 10, 2014.
7. The Des Moines Register (August 9, 2014). "Register Soapbox: Governor candidate Jonathan Narcisse". Retrieved September 10, 2014.
8. Noble, Jason (September 16, 2013). "State Sen. Jack Hatch officially enters 2014 race for Iowa governor". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
9. Horsch, Lauren (January 18, 2014). "Narcisse says he'll seek Democratic nomination in gubernatorial race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
10. Hayworth, Bret (October 2, 2013). "4th Democrat enters race for governor; Sioux City stop planned". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
11. Koplan, Tal (December 17, 2013). "State Rep. Tyler Olson drops Terry Branstad challenge". Politico. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
12. Noble, Jason; Jacobs, Jennifer (May 10, 2013). "New Hatch committee aimed at run for governor". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
13. Jacobs, Jennifer (February 12, 2014). "Democrat Chet Culver: I won't run for public office in 2014". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
14. Jacobs, Jennifer (June 4, 2013). "Waterloo Democrat Jeff Danielson won't run for higher office". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
15. Jacobs, Jennifer (August 30, 2013). "Democrat Mike Fitzgerald rules out a run for Iowa governor". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
16. Jacobs, Jennifer (July 30, 2013). "Democrats Mike Gronstal and Pam Jochum won't run for governor (updated)". Des Moines Register. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
17. Petroski, William (October 11, 2013). "Hatch names steering committee for Iowa governor's race". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
18. "Krause ends bid for governor, endorses fellow Democrat Hatch". Des Moines Register. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
19. Dorman, Todd (January 2, 2014). "Petersen won't run for governor". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
20. Jacobs, Jennifer (June 5, 2013). "Tom Vilsack won't run for Iowa governor again". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
21. "IA-Gov: Hatch rolls out campaign, Olson rolls out endorsements (updated)". Bleeding Heartland. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
22. "IA-Gov: Leonard Boswell, 14 legislators endorse Jack Hatch (updated)". Bleeding Heartland. October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
23. "Bleeding Heartland:: IA-Gov: Jack Hatch running "Smokey and the Branstad" ad (updated)". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
24. Danielson, Jeff (August 20, 2013). "Why Tyler Has My Support". Tyler Olson for Governor. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
25. "Bleeding Heartland:: IA-Gov: Bob Dvorsky is third senator to endorse Tyler Olson". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
26. "Sue Dvorsky on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
27. "Bleeding Heartland:: IA-Gov: Tyler Olson evokes "fresh leadership" for "the next thirty years"". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
28. Hon, Dave (October 15, 2013). "Rep. Dan Kelley endorses Tyler Olson for governor". Newton Daily News. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
29. "Janet Petersen on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
30. "State's largest union backs Olson for governor". WCF Courier. October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
31. "Tyler Olson claims first union endorsement of Democratic race for governor". Des Moines Register. September 19, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
32. Noble, Jason (June 18, 2014). "Monica Vernon signs on as Jack Hatch's lieutenant governor". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
33. "Meet the Candidate: Iowa Governor: Jim Hennager, New Independent Party Iowa". Des Moines Register. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
34. Aronsen, Gavin (March 25, 2014). "Iraq war vet among libertarians nominated at state convention". Ames Tribune. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
35. James Q. Lynch (July 31, 2014). "Iowa Party lieutenant governor candidate hopes to tap voter discontent". The Gazette. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
36. "2014 Governor Race Ratings for November 3, 2014". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
37. "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
38. "2014 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
39. "2014 Elections Map - 2014 Governors Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
40. Jim Hennager (NIP) 2%, Lee Deakins Hieb (L) 2%, Jonathan Narcisse (IP) 1%
41. Jim Hennager (NIP) 1.4%, Lee Deakins Hieb (L) 0.6%, Jonathan Narcisse (IP) 0.6%
42. Jim Hennager (NIP) 3%, Lee Deakins Hieb (L) 2%, Jonathan Narcisse (IP) 1%
43. Jim Hennager (NIP) 2%, Lee Deakins Hieb (L) 3%, Jonathan Narcisse (IP) 1%
44. Jim Hennager (NIP) 0.8%, Lee Deakins Hieb (L) 0.8%, Jonathan Narcisse (IP) 0%
45. Lee Hieb (L)
46. https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2014/general/govcanvsummary.pdf

External links

• Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Terry Branstad for Iowa Governor
• Paul Dahl for Iowa Governor
• Jack Hatch for Iowa Governor
• Tom Hoefling for Iowa Governor