Branstad’s In. Is Culver Out?
- Friday, January 8, 2010, 4:34
- Iowa, News Center, Top Story
- 1,467 views
- 5 comments
Former Governor Terry Branstad announced the dates and the cities of his announcement tour yesterday. Branstad will formally enter the race on January 19th. Branstad served four terms as governor from 1983 to 1999 and is now running for an unprecedented fifth term.
Branstad’s four day announcement tour will take him to seventeen counties all across Iowa. He plans to visit Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Denison, Des Moines, Fairfield, Harlan, Mason City, Mt. Pleasant, Muscatine, Orange City, Ottumwa, Pella, Sioux City, Spencer, Storm Lake, and Waterloo. The tour is set to begin in Des Moines.
Last October, Branstad retired from Des Moines University in order to spend more time talking to Iowans and evaluating his potential political comeback. A number of polls, including a poll conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com, have shown that Branstad would defeat Governor Culver handily in a head-to-head matchup. Before that happens, Branstad will first have to win a heated primary. Currently, there are three other Republican candidates vying for the GOP nomination, Bob Vander Plaats, Rod Roberts, and Chris Rants.
With the GOP field now set in Iowa, nationally, political pundits are wondering about Governor Culver’s future. A number of struggling Democratic governors and gubernatorial candidates have abruptly ended their re-election campaigns. In Wisconsin, Governor Jim Doyle was vulnerable and opted not to run again. Instead, the White House recruited Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to run. In Michigan, Lt. Governor John Cherry was running for Governor. Cherry was lagging in the polls and suddenly ended his campaign. The same is true for Governor Bill Ritter in Colorado.
The buzz in the nation’s capital is that the White House is systematically pressuring vulnerable Democratic candidates for governor and incumbents to either announce their retirement or withdraw from their races. An article in the National Review asks, “See some sort of pattern emerging here? Are Democrats — who are perceived to be in trouble — being bumped out of the way by Obama? Who’s next? Culver in Iowa or Strickland in Ohio? Both?”
Even Chris Cillizza with the Washington Post pointed out the heavy handedness of the White House. “Say what you will about the White House’s involvement in 2010 races — it has been at times heavy handed — it is clear that this Administration has decided to be an active player in key contests rather than a passive presence. In Colorado and Michigan, the White House maneuvered to preserve the party’s fading chances of holding the governorships,” Cillizza wrote yesterday.
TheIowaRepublican.com emailed Governor Culver’s Chief of Staff John Frew to ask if the White House has applied any pressure on the Governor not to run for re-election. Frew responded with one word, “No.”
Photo by Dave Davidson
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
5 Comments on “Branstad’s In. Is Culver Out?”
Write a Comment
Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
So lets play the hypothetical game here…Lets say the WH does put pressure on Culver and he drops out… Which Dem would the Obama Admin look to bring in his stead?
Gronstal? Murphy?
Braley and Loebsack would be out of the question..and Boswell is political dead meat…
Let the name games begin.. .:)
I don’t see Culver dropping out. There are no Democrats capable of entering the race at this point and raising the money needed or generating the buzz. I think Braley would be a strong candidate given the necessary time but why would he be interested?
The Democrats have to feel Culver can beat BVP and compete with Brandstad. Once people really start to focus on the race it will tighten up. I think Brandstad will beat Culver in the general election but it will be closer than people think.
Your assumption that the pressure comes from the White House may be all wrong. Pressure from the Democratic leadership might be clearer. There is far too much authority given Obama when in fact he is the figurehead for a much broader organization and we need to realize this.
Well, there is the possibility that–should Culver bow out–they would go the Wisconsin route and put up Frank Cownie. Or, I suppose Patty Judge is marginally more well-liked than Culver, but that would be a tough sell.
Tom Visack or Mike Blouin could do it. Vilsack is well-liked, and Blouin has tons of union support. Either one would match up well with Branstad.