Harkin has no advice for Branstad

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

Terry Branstad hasn't asked Sen. Tom Harkin for advice and Harkin isn't offering any.

“I'll let the Republicans handle their own intra-party affairs,” the Iowa Democrat responded when asked about the possibility Branstad, who served four terms as governor, will get into the Republican primary to choose the party's challenger to Gov. Chet Culver.

Branstad, who served from 1983-99, has said he will make a decision about whether to see an unprecedented fifth four-year term by October.

Harkin said Thursday he assumes Branstad understands what he would be getting into by stepping from the private sector back into the political fray. Branstad is president of Des Moines University, an osteopathic medical school.

“He would face a primary, and I don't care which party it is, those can be pretty bloody,” Harkin said. “I don't think the Republican candidates already in the race are going to walk away and say, ‘If Branstad gets in we're not going to run.'

“He's smart. He understands that,” Harkin said.

Already Rep. Chris Rants and businessman Bob Vander Plaats, both of Sioux City; Iowa Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton; businessman Christian Fong of Cedar Rapids; Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll and Sen. Jerry Behn of Boone are seeking the nomination.

Polls have shown Vander Plaats leading the field unless Branstad gets in. Polls also show Branstad having the best chance of beating Culver, whose support appears to be slipping, again, based on recent polls.

The deadline for entering the primary is in March. The primary is in June.