1994 Iowa gubernatorial election

1994 Iowa gubernatorial election

November 8, 1994

Nominee Terry Branstad Bonnie Campbell Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 566,395 414,453 Percentage 56.8% 41.6%

County results Branstad:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Campbell:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Terry Branstad Republican Elected Governor Terry Branstad Republican

The 1994 Iowa gubernatorial election took place November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad ran for re-election to a fourth term as governor. Branstad narrowly defeated a tough challenger in his primary election, emerging victorious by fewer than 12,000 votes. On the Democratic side, Attorney General of Iowa Bonnie Campbell won her party's nomination and both Branstad and Campbell moved on to the general election. Branstad ultimately won re-election to a fourth term as governor, defeating Campbell by a comfortable margin.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Terry Branstad, incumbent Governor of Iowa
• Fred Grandy, U.S. Representative from Sioux City and former actor

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Terry Branstad (inc.)	161,228	51.80
	Republican	Fred Grandy	149,809	48.13
	Write-in		240	0.08
Total votes			311,277	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bonnie Campbell, Attorney General of Iowa
• Darold Powers
• Bill Reichardt, former State Senator from Iowa City and former Green Bay Packers football player

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bonnie Campbell	99,718	77.71
	Democratic	Bill Reichardt	24,630	19.19
	Democratic	Darold Powers	3,170	2.47
	Write-in		799	0.62
Total votes			128,317	100.00

General election

Governor Terry Branstad made reinstatement of the death penalty a central focus of his 1994 re-election campaign; however, despite successfully being re-elected, he was unable to implement this policy due to opposition from Democrats in the Iowa State Senate.[2]

Polling

Source	Date	Branstad (R)	Campbell (D)
Des Moines Register	Nov. 7, 1994	47%	34%
KCCI-TV	Nov. 4, 1994	47%	43%
Cedar Rapids Gazette	Oct. 23, 1994	45%	43%
Des Moines Register	Oct. 7, 1994	45%	41%

Results

Iowa gubernatorial election, 1994[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Terry Branstad (inc.)	566,395	56.80%	−3.81%
	Democratic	Bonnie Campbell	414,453	41.56%	+2.71%
	Independent	Richard O'Dell Hughes	5,505	0.55%
	Natural Law	Veronica Bells Butler	3,737	0.37%
	Libertarian	Carl Eric Olsen	2,772	0.28%
	Socialist Workers	Michael Galati	770	0.08%	−0.36%
	Write-ins		3,616	0.36%
Majority			151,942	15.24%	−6.52%
Turnout			997,248
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• United States gubernatorial elections, 1994
• State of Iowa
• Governors of Iowa

References

1. "Primary Election, June 7, 1994 Official Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State.
2. "Branstad says death penalty push unlikely in 2013". Mason City Globe Gazette. December 10, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
3. "1994 General Election, November 8 1994, Official Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State.