REPLAY: Coverage of the Culver, Branstad debate

The Gazette's Todd Dorman will provide live chat coverage from Des Moines of today's third and final debate between Chet Culver and Terry Branstad. Wach the debate LIVE on IPTV's Web site.

The chat will start around 11:45 a.m. Join in below.

Today is the day

Today marks the third and possibly decisive round in a bare-knuckles political brawl between Democrat Chet Culver and Republican Terry Branstad over who is best equipped to be governor the next four years.

Branstad, 63, who previously served four terms as Iowa's governor from 1983 to 1999, is slated to face off with Culver, 44, a first-term incumbent seeking re-election, in an hour-long debate sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television. The meeting is their final joint appearance before the Nov. 2 election.

Culver, in recent days, has taken to comparing the 2010 race to a prize fight where he is the champion who is battling back after trailing in some early rounds to his GOP challenger.

“I've got Terry Branstad on the run. We've been landing a lot of good punches,” Culver told reporters during a stop at a senior citizens' center Wednesday. “The key is to win decisively, a unanimous decision Nov. 2.”

Jeff Boeyink, Branstad's campaign manager, likened today's event to a job interview where two people seeking the same position as the state's chief executive will be “putting their resumes on the line.”

“At the end of the day we're pretty confident that Gov. Branstad's resume will carry the day,” he added.

Culver said he believes he is making inroads with voters since Branstad appeared to hedge a campaign promise to cut state government by 15 percent over five years while easing tax burdens for corporations and commercial property owners. Branstad has said plan would not necessarily mean that the state would have a smaller budget, rather his intent was to eliminate a “structural deficit” of 15 percent over five years without raising taxes.

Culver has characterized that as back pedaling and contends Branstad is employing a new definition of what a cut is and using the “fuzzy math” that was a hallmark of past Branstad budgeting when he was accused of keeping two sets of books and “cooking” the numbers previously as governor.

“He's changed his position on that issue five times in the last six days,” Culver said – a charge the Branstad camp refuted.

“I think people are starting to take a second look at the real Terry Branstad,” Culver added. “He's promised to cut the budget 15 percent. That sounds really good but now he won't tell us how he's going to save $800 million. He's promised to raise incomes for all of us by 25 percent but he hasn't told us his plan to do that either. People are starting to get the information they need to make an informed decision.”

What people are getting, Boeyink said, is a daily dose of negative attacks from Culver.

“We're not going to be moved off our message by the daily accusations that come out of the Culver campaign,” he said in stressing that Branstad is focusing on ways to help the private sector create jobs and reduce burdensome regulation that impedes those efforts.

“We feel very good about where we are today,” Boeyink said. “We take nothing for granted. I feel very good about the closing campaign plan that we have. We have a great candidate who has never lost an election. We feel good about our chances of keeping that unbeaten streak in tact.”

Boeyink scoffed at Culver's contention that Branstad is “trying to run out the clock” by scaling back his campaign appearances in the closing days, noting that Branstad has slated 37 events next week.