Official’s move points to Branstad campaign

Any doubt former Gov. Terry Branstad will get into the race for governor seems to be disappearing as a top GOP official jumped from a party post to the 2010 Terry Branstad Committee Tuesday.

A few hours later, Draft Branstad PAC declared “mission accomplished” and folded its tents. The political action committee was formed to encourage the four-term governor to challenge Democrat Gov. Chet Culver.

The formation of a Branstad exploratory committee last week and Republican Party of Iowa Executive Director Jeff Boeyink leaving to lead the Branstad committee was enough to convince former Rep. Sandy Griener, a Keota Republican, that Draft Branstad PAC's work was done.

“We believe that Gov. Branstad will not only be an official candidate for governor, but will also be the next governor of the state of Iowa,” she said.

However, Lake Mills attorney and close Branstad friend Richard Schwarm said it's not certain the former governor will seek a fifth term. Branstad is president of Des Moines University.

Schwarm called Boeyink's hire as “the next natural step in our exploratory process” in moving from a volunteer effort to acquiring a professional staff and financial resources that would be need to “take Terry Branstad 2010 to the next level of effectiveness.”

Boeyink had served as executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa since last February. Before joining the state GOP leadership team, Boeyink served as president of Iowans for Tax Relief, a Muscatine-based organization where he worked for more than two decades.