Branstad wins record sixth term as Iowa governor

DES MOINES - Gov. Terry Branstad scored a resounding win over Democratic challenger Jack Hatch in Tuesday's balloting, sending him to an unprecedented sixth term and the likelihood of becoming the nation's longest-serving governor of all time.

Branstad, 67, and running mate Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, 55, used a massive fundraising advantage and well-oiled statewide organization to bury Hatch, 64, a three-term state senator from Des Moines making his first bid for statewide office in a midterm election cycle that already tilted in the incumbent Republican's favor.

With 297 of 1,781 precincts reporting, Branstad was leading with 50.8 percent of the vote to Hatch's 45.4 percent, but major television networks and the Associated Press declared Branstad the winner based upon exit polling data shortly after the Iowa polls closed at 9 p.m.

'Four years ago I returned to lead Iowa's comeback. Ladies and gentlemen, we've done just that,” said Branstad, who was Iowa's 39th governor from 1983 to 1999 and currently is serving as the state's 42nd governor.

'We've laid the foundation to make Iowa the envy of the nation and I'm proud to say we're well on our way, but we're not done yet,” Branstad told a cheering GOP victory party at a West Des Moines hotel.

Branstad and Reynolds campaigned on a platform of continued job growth, business investment, higher incomes, better schools, lower taxes and fiscal responsibility. The governor said he is well on his way to accomplishing goals he set for his fifth term, but campaigned on a theme of 'we're not done yet” in setting a limited, focused agenda going forward.

Hatch, a private developer and state legislator, and his running mate, Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon, cited confidential 'hush money” settlements with former state workers, 'do-not-hire” lists and questionable employment practices in accusing Branstad of presiding over 'the most scandal-ridden administration in the history of the state” and offering voters a chance for a fresh start under their leadership.

'It's a difficult campaign to run against a five-term incumbent, but we talked about the issues and we talked about the future and we gave an alternative,” said Hatch, who decried the fact that Branstad had 'gobs” of special-interest money while he struggled to punch through a positive message in a campaign cycle awash with negative advertising.

'We feel good about what we've done and I think we've laid out the issues and where we want Iowa to go in the future,” added Hatch, a Connecticut-born son of a banker and elementary school teacher who moved to Iowa as a college student.

Backed by a formidable fundraising advantage - $9.6 million to Hatch's $1.8 million in the 2014 election cycle - Branstad held comfortable leads in the polls throughout the campaign.

'Branstad has proved himself to be as politically smart as anyone in the country,” said Iowa State University political science lecturer James Strohman.

A native Iowans born to a Norwegian-American Lutheran farm family in Leland near the Minnesota border, Branstad understands average Iowans and how to appeal to them, Strohman said.

'He has consistently placed a strong emphasis on education, agriculture and pay-as-you-go government - values that Iowans hold in their own lives,” he said.

During months of campaigning, Branstad said he is well on his way to fulfilling the promises he made during the 2010 campaign to create 200,000 jobs with the help of more than $9 billion in new business investments, raise Iowans' personal income by 25 percent, reform education and cut the size of government over five years. He also touted the largest tax cut in Iowa history passed under his watch.

Branstad said his plan is to continue to build on those successes with goals to 'connect every acre” in Iowa with high-speed Internet to equip farmers with the technology they need for today's precision agriculture, close the skills gap for workers and employers, and make college more affordable while helping students reduce their debt loads.

Hatch countered that Branstad was using trumped-up job creation numbers that don't factor in job losses since 2011 and most Iowans know their income has not increased by 25 percent under Branstad's leadership.

Hatch said his plan was to bolster middle-class Iowans with progressive tax changes that would lower their tax burdens and to shift the focus of economic development to regional alliances that can best direct strategies suited to local communities. He favored gradually raising the state's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and expanding preschool opportunities that Branstad tried to scale back but abandoned in the face of considerable opposition.

Branstad became the longest serving governor in American constitutional history shortly after he took his fifth oath of office in 2011, when he passed former South Dakota Gov. William Janklow, who had held the record after serving 16 years and seven days in office.

During his next term which begins in January, he will become the longest-serving governor all time, surpassing New York Gov. George Clinton - whose tenure included about 10 years as a colonial governor before the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

According to the New York State Library, George Clinton served from July 30, 1777, to June 30, 1795, and from July 1, 1801, to June 30, 1804.

Clinton served 20 years 10 months and 29 days for a total of 7,639 days in office, according to Eric Ostermeier, a research associate at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

At the end of his current term, Branstad will have served 7,303 days or 19 years, 11 months and 29 days. Branstad will overtake Clinton on Dec. 14, 2015, his 7,640th day in office, according to Ostermeier.