Branstad starts search for running mate

AMES – Newly elected GOP gubernatorial nominee Terry Branstad said Wednesday he plans to move quickly in naming a running mate, noting that some of the Republicans who competed for governor in the primary election could be up for consideration.

“I want to be very thoughtful and deliberative in making that decision,” Branstad told reporters after addressing an Iowa Association of Business & Industry conference. “It's a very important decision and I want to make the best possible choice.”

Branstad, 63, a former lieutenant governor himself who also served four terms as governor from 1983 to 1999, said he is required to make his choice for running mate before the party's June 26 state convention.

“I want somebody that shares my conservative views on economic and social issues,” he said. “Somebody that has leadership ability, somebody that's a good people person, a hard worker with strong work ethic that will work just as strong as I do -- and that's a tall order -- and somebody that I think  really can be a future governor of our state.”

The former governor, who faces the Democratic team of Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge in the Nov. 2 general election, noted that Iowa has had a recent tradition of female lieutenant governors but he said “gender is not going to be the primary consideration” as he narrows his list of prospects.

“I think there's several possibilities,” Branstad said, adding that he had a lot of respect for the other Republicans who ran against him or decided to drop out of the race once he got in last October. That group included Cedar Rapids business executive Christian Fong, Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, and Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone, as well as his two rivals in Tuesday's balloting – Sioux City business consultant Bob Vander Plaats, who finished a strong second with 40 percent of the vote, and five-term state Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, who came in a distant third.

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