The 2018 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn; born August 4, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Reynolds served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017. B ...

ran for election to a full term, facing Democratic businessman

Fred Hubbell Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodr ...

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Jake Porter, and independent candidate Gary Siegwarth. On Election Day, Reynolds won 50.3% of the vote, a 2.8% margin of victory, and carried 88 of Iowa's 99 counties. She became the first female governor of Iowa elected in her own right. This was the first Iowa gubernatorial election since 1998 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president.

Background

After the 2016 presidential election, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

nominated then-Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa f ...

to be the

United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China (PRC). The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of W ...

. When Branstad was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, he resigned as Iowa Governor to assume the ambassadorship on May 24, 2017. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds then became Governor of Iowa.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

, incumbent Governor of Iowa.

Withdrew

* Ron Corbett, Mayor of Cedar Rapids * Steven Ray, Mayor pro tempore of Boone

Declined

and former Governor * Steve King, U.S. Representative *

Bill Northey William Howard Northey (born May 27, 1959) is an American politician who served as the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the United States Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he p ...

, U.S.

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services The Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services was the third-ranking official in the United States Department of Agriculture prior to reorganization of several mission areas, announced on May 11, 2017. The mission ...

and former

Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa The Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa is an elected position in government of the U.S. state of Iowa that was created in 1923 by the extra session of the 40th General Assembly. The Secretary of Agriculture heads the Iowa Department of Agriculture ...

Bob Vander Plaats Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a social conservative organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party politi ...

, president and CEO of

The Family Leader The Family Leader (stylized The FAMiLY LEADER) is an American socially conservative umbrella group comprising The Family Leader Foundation, Marriage Matters, Iowa Family PAC, and Iowans for Freedom. The Family Leader is loosely affiliated with the ...

, candidate for Governor of Iowa in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

, businessman

Eliminated in primary

Cathy Glasson Cathy Glasson is an American nurse, union leader, and former candidate for Governor of Iowa, running in the 2018 Democratic primary. She is President of SEIU Local 199 in Iowa and has received support from the union. Glasson lost the primary to b ...

, president of

SEIU Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

Local 199 *

Andy McGuire Andrea "Andy" McGuire (born November 26, 1956) is an American politician and doctor. She served as Iowa Democratic Party chair from 2015 to 2017. Prior to becoming the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, McGuire ran unsuccessfully for the Democra ...

, former chairwoman of the

Iowa Democratic Party The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. While existing when Iowa was granted statehood in 1846, it did not gain broad electoral success until the mid-1950s, when demographic change ...

and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in

* John Norris, former chief of staff to Governor

Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...

, former

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

member and nominee for IA-04 in

* Ross Wilburn, former mayor of

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

Withdrew

* Nate Boulton, state senator * Rich Leopold, director of the

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

Conservation Board and former Director of the

Iowa Department of Natural Resources The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR or IA DNR) is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wild ...

* Mike Matson, Davenport alderman * Jon Neiderbach, attorney, former member of the

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

School Board and nominee for State Auditor in 2014 *

Todd Prichard Todd Prichard (born 1974) is a Democratic member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing the 52nd district. Prichard was first elected in a January 22, 2013 special election. Prichard was considering running for governor in 2018, but ...

, state representative

Declined

Chaz Allen Allen was mayor of Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is ...

, state senator * Joe Bolkcom, state senator * Bill Brauch, former director of the Consumer Protection Division of the Iowa Attorney General's Office * Mike Carberry, Johnson County Supervisor *

Jeff Danielson Jeff Danielson (born August 6, 1970) is a former Democratic Iowa State Senator. Having served the 30th Senate District between 2013 and 2019, he had also previously served the 10th Senate District up until redistricting, between 2005 and 2013. ...

, state senator *

Michael Gronstal Michael E. Gronstal (born January 29, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator who represented the 8th district in the Iowa Senate. He served from 1985 to 2017 and was the majority leader and chairman of the Rules and Administration committee. He was ...

, former Majority Leader of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

* Chris Hall, state representative *

Rita Hart Rita Hart (born May 5, 1956) is an American politician and retired educator who served as an Iowa State Senator from the 49th district from 2013 to 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Hart ran for ...

, state senator (nominee for Lieutenant Governor) * Jack Hatch, former state senator and nominee for Governor of Iowa in 2014 *

Rob Hogg Robert Mason Hogg (born January 24, 1967) is the Iowa State Senator from the 33rd District. A Democrat, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 2007 after having served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. He ran in the Democ ...

, Minority Leader of the

and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016 *

Pam Jochum Pam Jochum (born September 26, 1954) is an American politician serving as the Iowa State Senator from the 50th District and former President of the Iowa Senate. A Democrat, she was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1993 to 2009, ...

, state senator *

Dave Loebsack David Wayne Loebsack (; born December 23, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also is an ''emeritus'' professor of political science at Cornell Coll ...

, U.S. Representative *

Liz Mathis Elizabeth Ann Mathis (née Rumann, 1958) is an American politician, non-profit executive and former broadcast journalist who has served as an Iowa State Senator since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected to represent the 18th ...

, state senator * Jim Mowrer, nominee for IA-04 in 2014 and IA-03 in 2016 (ran for the nomination for Secretary of State) * Tyler Olson, former state representative, former chairman of the

and candidate for Governor of Iowa in 2014 *

Janet Petersen Janet Petersen (born August 1, 1970) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Iowa Senate representing the 18th District since January 2013. She previously served as the Senate Minority Leader and has previously represented the ...

, state senator * Steve Sodders, former state senator *

, former

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

and former Governor of Iowa

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian primary

Libertarian Party presidential nominee

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

received 3.8 percent of the votes in Iowa in 2016, surpassing the 2 percent threshold to attain full political party status. As a result, the Libertarian Party was allowed to hold a primary to select a nominee.

Candidates

Nominated

* Jake Porter, business consultant

Declared

* Marco Battaglia, musician * Jake Porter, nominee for Secretary of State in 2010 and 2014

Endorsements

Results

Independents

Candidates

* Gary Siegwarth, Fisheries Biologist

Withdrew

* Brent Roske, director and candidate for

CA-33 California's 33rd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Based in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, the district is currently represent ...

in 2014

Endorsements

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

;with Nate Boulton ;with Cathy Glasson ;with generic Democrat ;with John Norris ;with Andy McGuire

Results

While pre-election polls showed Reynolds trailing Hubbell, Reynolds won 50.3% of the vote on Election Day, primarily by sweeping every county west of Des Moines and dominating the 4th Congressional District (she lost the other three). Ultimately, she carried 88 of Iowa's 99 counties. She became the first female governor of Iowa elected in her own right.

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites
Gary Siegwarth (I) for GovernorFred Hubbell (D) for GovernorJake Porter (L) for GovernorKim Reynolds (R) for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa gubernatorial election, 2018

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2018 2018 United States gubernatorial elections

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominated

Declared

Endorsements

Results

Independents

Candidates

Withdrew

Endorsements

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links