Republican Branstad re-elected as Iowa governor

Published 10:59 pm Tuesday, November 4, 2014

DES MOINES — Republican Terry Branstad cruised to re-election for a sixth term as Iowa’s governor, overcoming a poorly funded Democratic state senator.

Voters today overwhelmingly favored Branstad, who was first elected governor in 1982. After serving four terms, he took a 12-year break from politics before being elected again in 2010.

Branstad had no trouble with his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines.

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In part, that was due to a huge fundraising disparity that let Branstad spend millions of dollars on television advertising while Hatch went weeks without ads because he lacked the campaign cash.

In his campaign, Branstad emphasized improvements in Iowa’s economy during the past four years and his success in reducing taxes while protecting education funding.