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

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn, August 4, 1959) is an American politician from Iowa. A Republican, Reynolds has served since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. She is the first female governor in Iowa history. Reynolds was elected Clarke ...

ran for election to a full term, facing Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

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 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

in which the winner was of the same party as the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

president.

Background

After the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

nominated then-Governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Repu ...

to be the

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

. When Branstad was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, he resigned as Iowa governor to assume the ambassadorship on May 24, 2017.

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Kim Reynolds then became governor of Iowa.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

, incumbent governor of Iowa

Withdrew

Ron Corbett Ron Corbett (born October 12, 1960) is an American politician and former mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Early life and education Corbett was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1960. In 1974, his family moved to Iowa and he later graduated from Cornel ...

, mayor of

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

* Steven Ray, mayor pro tempore of Boone

Declined

and former governor *

Steve King Steven Arnold King (born May 28, 1949) is an American former politician and businessman who served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district un ...

, U.S. representative *

Bill Northey William Howard Northey (May 27, 1959 – February 5, 2024) was 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 Repu ...

, 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 socially conservative organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party poli ...

, president and CEO of The Family Leader, candidate for governor of Iowa in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and nominee for lieutenant governor of Iowa in

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

* Fred Hubbell, businessman

Eliminated in primary

* Cathy Glasson, president of SEIU Local 199 * Andy McGuire, former chairwoman of the

Iowa Democratic Party The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. The party organizes the Democratic Iowa caucuses, Iowa presidential caucuses. In recent years, the party has l ...

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. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden admi ...

, former

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates the interstate transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas and regulates the prices of interstate transport ...

member and nominee for IA-04 in

Ross Wilburn Ross Wilburn (1964/1965) is an American politician and social worker serving as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 50th district. Elected in November 2018, he assumed office in January 2019. Wilburn has also served as chair of ...

, former mayor of

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

Withdrew

Nate Boulton Nate Boulton (born May 23, 1980) is an American politician who served in the Iowa Senate from 2017 to 2025. Boulton, a Democrat, represented the 20th and 16th districts. Boulton was first elected in 2016 to replace retiring Democratic Senator ...

, state senator * Rich Leopold, director of the Polk County 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, wi ...

* Mike Matson,

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

alderman * Jon Neiderbach, attorney, former member of the

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

School Board and nominee for State Auditor in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* Todd Prichard, state representative

Declined

* Chaz Allen, state senator *

Joe Bolkcom Joseph Bolkcom (born July 29, 1956) is a former member of the Iowa Senate. A Iowa Democratic Party, Democrat, he was first elected to the Senate in 1998 and served for 24 years before retiring in 2023. During his tenure he represented the 23rd, 3 ...

, 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. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

* Chris Hall, state representative *

Rita Hart Rita Hart (born May 5, 1956) is an American politician and retired educator who served as an Iowa Senate, Iowa State Senator from the Iowa Senate, District 49, 49th district from 2013 to 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

, state senator (nominee for lieutenant governor) *

Jack Hatch Jack G. Hatch (born March 13, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator and American business owner. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in the 2014 election. A Democrat, Hatch served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2015, and was an a ...

, former state senator and nominee for governor of Iowa in

* Rob Hogg, Minority Leader of the

and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Pam Jochum Mary Pamela Jochum ( Hingtgen; born September 26, 1954) is an American politician serving as the Iowa State Senator from the Iowa Senate District 36, 36th District and former President of the Iowa Senate. A Iowa Democratic Party, Democrat, she was ...

, 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 Colle ...

, 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

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 6 ...

, 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 and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

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 in

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.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Black Hawk (largest city:

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

) *

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

(largest city:

) *

(largest city: Burlington) *

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

(largest city:

) * Jefferson (largest city: Fairfield) *

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

(largest city:

Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk, Iowa, Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of ...

) *

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated as Linn. * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Place ...

(Largest city:

) *

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

(largest city:

) *

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

(largest city:

) *

Story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

(largest city:

Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...

)

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Hubbell won three of four congressional districts.https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::2d801234-32b3-4a96-a64c-82e27c460716

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American 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 offic ...

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 Governor

Fred Hubbell (D) for Governor

Jake Porter (L) for Governor

Kim Reynolds (R) for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa gubernatorial election, 2018

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

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

See also

References

External links