Branstad supporters launch draft campaign for former governor

Posted on Sep 02, 2009 by Admin.

Supporters of former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad who want to see him back at Terrace Hill have taken matters into their own hands.

Ex-state legislator Sandy Greiner of Keota announced Wednesday that a “Draft Branstad PAC” has formed with the purpose of encouraging the four-term former governor to run for his old job as Iowa’s chief executive in 2010. Branstad, 62, previously served as Iowa governor for 16 years from January 1983 to January 1999.

“Gov. Branstad is what Iowa needs, and Iowans need to convince him to run. He is Iowa,” Greiner said in a statement announcing the political action committee’s formation. “This guy has proved himself by going through the fire” in leading the state through the farm crisis of the mid-1980s and the 1993 flood, she added.

“Everywhere I go, everyone asks me — how can we get Terry Branstad to run for governor?” Greiner said, noting she has not discussed her draft effort with Branstad or any of his Republican allies. “Like so many Iowans, I desire experienced leadership in these challenging times our state faces. Therefore, I decided to organize an effort to encourage Gov. Branstad to run.

“He is an experienced, proven leader Iowans can rely on, and has an outstanding record to campaign on if our efforts can help convince him to run,” she added. She said Iowa saw balanced budgets, tax cuts, world-class leadership in education, and diverse economic growth.

Greiner urged anyone who is interested to visit the www.DraftBranstad.com to sign up to support the Draft Branstad movement.

Since August 2003, Branstad has served as the 14th president of Des Moines University, a private medical school based in Des Moines. He has indicated that he has an interest in returning to the political arena and has set an October deadline to decide whether to join the GOP field seeking the 2010 gubernatorial nomination to challenge first-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.

Branstad has notified the Des Moines University board that he is considering a political run and he has enlisted a former law partner to assess fundraising and staffing potentials were he to decide to launch a 2010 election bid. Six GOP hopefuls already have indicated interest in the party’s 2010 gubernatorial nomination.

Doug Gross, the 2002 GOP gubernatorial candidate and former Branstad aide, said he was not involved in the draft movement but had heard such an effort had formed.

“I’m not surprised, frankly, because he’s been getting lots and lots of calls and contacts asking him to consider it, and he is considering it. So I suspect they want to push him over the edge,” Gross said.

Michael Kiernan, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said his party is “ready to take on anybody,” even if it turns out to be a comeback candidate who raised the state’s sales and gasoline taxes as governor.

“Since Terry Branstad first ran for office, Iowa and the political landscape has changed dramatically,” Kiernan said. “When he first ran it was a polar opposite, their party was up nearly 100,000 voter registrations, Ronald Reagan was the president; today Democrats are up by 116,000 registrants and Barack Obama is the president. He’s been out of office for a long time.”