Branstad running mate 'wowed' by challenge, opportunity

By James Q. Lynch and Rod Boshart

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Sen. Kim Reynolds, former Gov. Terry Branstad's choice for lieutenant governor, was “wowed” by the prospects of her first statewide campaign and a chance to chart a much-needed new direction for Iowa.

“Oh my gosh,” Reynolds said when she was introduced to about 75 people at The Eastern Iowa Airport June 24, the last stop on a seven-city fly-around tour.

Joining Branstad, who is seeking an unprecedented fifth four-year term, will be an “amazing journey” at a truly critical time for Iowa, she said.

“We can do better, Iowans deserve better and we will do better,” said Reynolds, 50, a first-term senator from Osceola and a former four-term Clarke County treasurer. “Let's go get ‘em.”

Branstad said he considered several talented people as a running mate, but chose the mother of three and grandmother of two because she is a team player and a “dynamic and dedicated” public servant who has a strong work ethic, shares his core conservative values, has a passion for rural development, and is well qualified to step into state government's No. 2 executive position.

Branstad's two primary opponents combined for nearly 49 percent of the vote. Many Republicans have urged Branstad to select one of them as his running mate. There are rumors Bob Vander Plaats, who captured 41 percent of the vote, will be nominated for lieutenant governor from the floor of the state Republican convention Saturday.

“You know, he was chosen as the lieutenant governor candidate four years ago and that didn't work out,” Branstad said. “I looked at and considered him and Rod Roberts and Christian Fong and a lot of talented people. I felt Kim Reynolds was the best choice.”

He's “very optimistic she will be enthusiastically accepted” by convention delegates.

“For the past two years she has served in the Iowa Senate and many have praised her as an intelligent and articulate up-and-coming new leader in Iowa,” said Branstad, 63, himself a former lieutenant governor who served four terms as governor from 1983 and 1999 before deciding to launch a comeback bid this year.

Reynolds, a southern Iowa lawmakers whose Senate District 48 includes Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Montgomery, Ringgold, Taylor and Union counties, said she was humbled and honored by Branstad's support and pledged to “work day and night” to do everything possible to help return him to Terrace Hill for a fifth term.

“We truly stand at a crossroads today. This is an extremely important election,” said Reynolds, who noted that 115,000 Iowans are unemployed and state government faces another challenging budget year.

“The state's kind of in rough shape right now. We've got some bleak days we're looking at, but I truly believe that our best days are ahead of us,” Reynolds said.

The newly formed Branstad-Reynolds ticket will face the Democratic team of Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge in the Nov. 2 general election.

“We think that Culver has mismanaged the state very badly and the people are looking for a change,” Branstad said.

Judge welcomed another southern Iowa woman to gubernatorial politics. Judge said she has known Reynolds because, as a former state senator from Albia, she represented Clarke County during the time that Reynolds was county treasurer. However, she said little is known about Reynolds' positions on issues of statewide interest and she looks forward to hearing more detailed information as the fall campaign progresses.

“As a relative newcomer, it's going to be interesting to see where she goes and where she's going to stand on the issues,” Judge told reporters.

Judge said she was not surprised by Branstad's announcement, but she expected him to chose someone more closely aligned with GOP primary election rivals Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City or state Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, to win back support of religious and social conservatives following June 8 balloting where the former four-term governor mustered a little more than half of the GOP ballots.

“It will be interesting to see if Kim does help Terry win back the nearly 50 percent of the primary votes that he did not receive, and I'm not sure that she will,” Judge said. “In all candor, it appears that Kim comes out of the same camp as Terry and Doug Gross rather than the camp of Bob Vander Plaats or Rod Roberts. It will be interesting to see if they can pull that off.”

Branstad's choice of Reynolds was well-received among Republicans, with House GOP Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha calling her “a strong voice for Iowa families and a conservative leader” and Senate GOP Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton sounding almost like a November victory is assured by issuing a statement in which he said it's been an honor to serve with her in the Senate and Republicans “will miss her presence in caucus and her leadership in the Senate.”

Cedar Rapids business executive Christian Fong, a one-time 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate, called Reynolds “a great choice,” saying “she is a public official who listens and serves rather than dictates from Des Moines.”

Steve Roberts, a GOP activist and former national committeeman from Des Moines, called Reynolds an excellent choice for lieutenant governor.

“She brings a lot to the table,” Roberts said. “She's been a local official, she's had experience running both at the local level and running for the Legislature and yet she isn't considered part of the establishment.”

That and her conservative credentials should satisfy Republicans who may have supported Branstad's rivals in the June 8 primary, Roberts said.

Branstad agreed. “I think it says to social conservatives that here we have a rising, talented conservative who has overcome adversity in her own life. She's been a real leader on economic and social issues in our state and I think somebody that Republicans can unite and support,” he said.

Reynolds, who had two drunken-driving arrests about a decade ago, said “I'm very proud of my life and where it stands today. I could not have done it without a strong faith and a family and a great network of support.”

They've given her “the ability to risk failure, to find growth in the challenge, because I truly believe that when we stop challenging ourselves we quit growing as individuals,” Reynolds said.

Branstad referred to her arrests when describing Reynolds as someone “who has overcome some adversities in her own life.”

He expressed complete confidence in her.

“She's articulate and enthusiastic,” he said. “I think she's going to be a real spark plug and I think she has all the leadership ability that we need to re-energize our state and our party in the future.”

However, Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center Action board, which has withheld support from either major-party candidate for governor in 2010, said nothing had changed from his group's perspective with Branstad's selection of Reynolds as his running mate.

Reynolds said she is pro-life, pro-family and supports a public vote on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between one man and one woman.