Branstad served as the 39th governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999. Following this initial retirement from politics, he served as President of Des Moines University, a private medical osteopathic school, from 2003 to 2009.[2][3] In 2010, Branstad returned to Iowa politics, running for governor again and defeating Democratic incumbent Chet Culver to become the state's 42nd governor.[4][5] His tenure of 22 years, 4 months, and 13 days makes him the longest-serving governor in American history, having surpassed George Clinton's record of 20 years, 11 months, and 2 days on 14 December 2015.[6]
In December 2016, Branstad accepted President Donald Trump's nomination to serve as the United States Ambassador to China.[7] Branstad resigned as governor of Iowa on May 24, 2017 and was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to China on July 12, 2017. In 2020, Branstad resigned as Ambassador to China in order to work on President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign.[8]
On January 24, 2023, it was announced that Branstad would take over as the new president of the World Food Prize Foundation.[9][10]
In 1983 Branstad vetoed a bill to establish a state lottery.[25]
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.[26]
Iowa's unemployment rate went from 8.5% when Branstad took office to a record low 2.5% by the time he left office in 1999.[27][28] In his first year as governor, the state budget had a $90 million deficit.[29] It took several years until the budget was balanced. Branstad said he did not have enough support in the legislature to approve budget reforms until 1992. By 1999 Iowa had an unprecedented $900 million budget surplus.[30][31]
Branstad focused most of his efforts outside of politics after leaving office in early 1999. He founded Branstad and Associates, LLC[32] and was also a partner in the firm of Kaufman, Pattee, Branstad & Miller[33] and a financial advisor for Robert W. Baird and Co.[34]
In August 2003 Branstad accepted an offer from Des Moines University to become its president.[23] On October 16, 2009, he announced his retirement from Des Moines University to run again for governor.[35]
President George W. Bush appointed Branstad to chair the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education.[36] The commission was charged with developing a plan to improve the educational performance of students with disabilities. After completing his work with the commission in 2003, Branstad was asked to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for Positive Action for Teen Health, or PATH. The advisory council encourages action to detect adolescent mental illness. In April 2003 Branstad was named a public member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which comprises both professional and public members who address a variety of issues related to accounting.[37]
On August 2, 2009, The Des Moines Register reported that Branstad was actively considering seeking the Republican nomination for governor. On October 7, Branstad filed papers to run for governor in the 2010 election.[42] According to a September Des Moines Register poll, he maintained a 70% favorability rating from Iowans as compared to Governor Chet Culver's rating of 50%.[43]
On June 8, 2010, Branstad won the Republican gubernatorial nomination,[44] but when opposing candidate Bob Vander Plaats conceded, he did not endorse Branstad.[45]
The Des Moines Tea Party gave Branstad a "no" on their report card regarding "criteria for acceptance" and said Branstad had "a history of raising taxes, [was] not a true conservative, increased the size of government every year he held office, [and] built a state-owned phone company."[46] Former Iowa State Auditor Richard Johnson accused Branstad of keeping "two sets of books" on the state budget while governor. Johnson said Branstad needed to be "transparent" to Iowa voters about the reporting of Iowa's finances during his tenure as governor.[47]
Branstad speaking at the 2016 Roast and Ride, hosted by U.S. Senator Joni Ernst
Branstad ran for reelection in 2014. He was opposed in the Republican primary by Tom Hoefling, a political activist and nominee for president in 2012 for both America's Party and American Independent Party.[48] Branstad won the primary with 83% of the vote.[49]
In the general election, Branstad faced Democratic nominee State Senator Jack Hatch and won with 59% of the vote.[50][51]
Voting rights
Branstad rescinded an executive order signed by governor Tom Vilsack that restored voting rights to approximately 115,000 felons who had completed their sentences.[52] Iowa was the last remaining state to have felons permanently disenfranchised until 2020, when Branstad's successor, Kim Reynolds, restored voting rights for some felons who had completed their sentences.[52][53]
Taxes
In June 2013, Branstad signed into law a sweeping tax reform bill that had widespread bipartisan support, passing the Iowa Senate by 44 votes to 6 and the Iowa House by 84 votes to 13.[54] The bill, Senate File 295,[54] provided for the state's largest tax cut in history, including an estimated $4.4 billion in property tax reform[55] and an estimated $90 million of annual income tax relief, in part in the form of an increase in the earned income tax credit.[56] The bill also included significant reforms to education and health care.[56]
Job creation ranking
A June 2013 Business Journals analysis of 45 of the country's 50 governors ranked Branstad 28th in job creation.[57] The ranking was based on a comparison of the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.[58]
Gun rights
On April 13, 2017, with large Republican majorities in the Iowa legislature,[59][60] Branstad signed a bill into law expanding gun rights, enacting a stand-your-ground law, expanding the right of citizens to sue if they believe their Second Amendment rights are being infringed, and expanding the gun rights of minors, among several other provisions.[61]
Bakken pipeline
Branstad's business-friendly appointments to the Iowa Utilities Board were controversial. They have "virtually assured" approval of the Iowa section of the Dakota Access pipeline. His last appointment was that of Richard W. Lozier Jr., who represented a pro-pipeline lobby group and who had to recuse himself one month after he joined in 2017.[62]
Discrimination lawsuit
On July 15, 2019, a jury in Polk County, Iowa awarded a gay former state official $1.5 million in damages, finding that Branstad had discriminated against him based on sexual orientation in 2012.[63]
In December 2016 President-elect Donald Trump chose Branstad to serve as US Ambassador to China, succeeding Max Baucus.[64] Branstad accepted the offer within one day after meeting with Trump in New York.[65] Trump cited Branstad's decades of experience with China while governor of Iowa.[65]Xi Jinping, China's paramount leader, considers Branstad an "old friend".[66] Branstad's relationship with Xi dates to 1985, when Xi, then a young official from Hebei Province, headed a five-man agricultural delegation to Iowa.[67] Branstad's hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee was held on May 2, 2017.[68]
Branstad was confirmed by the Senate on May 22, 2017, in an 82 to 13 vote.[69] He resigned as governor on May 24, 2017, in a ceremony at the Iowa State House, and was immediately sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to China. His appointment marked the third time in a decade that a politician resigned a statewide office to become the Ambassador to China; Jon Huntsman Jr. resigned as governor of Utah in 2009, and Max Baucus resigned as U.S. senator from Montana in 2014.
In May 2019, Branstad traveled to Tibet Autonomous Region amid heightening trade tensions between the United States and China. This diplomatic journey was designed to give the United States a better perception of Tibet and its people, cultural practices, and life.
Branstad stepped down as U.S. Ambassador to China[70] in early October 2020, at the request of President Donald Trump to help with his 2020 presidential campaign.[71]
Personal life
Branstad married Christine Johnson on June 17, 1972. They have three children, Eric, Allison, and Marcus, and eight grandchildren. His wife has worked as a medical assistant and as a volunteer at schools and hospitals.[72] Eric Branstad is a political consultant and lobbyist whose lobbying activities on behalf of Chinese firms while Branstad was US Ambassador to China led to charges with conflict of interest.[73][74][75] Branstad denied the allegation.[76] Allison moved to Beijing with her father when he was appointed ambassador because she landed a job at the International School of Beijing as a third grade teacher.[77][78] Marcus was appointed by his father to the Iowa Natural Resources Commission in 2013 and works as a lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council.[73]
Branstad is a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. He received the honor of "Knight Commander of the Court of Honor" in 2015.[79]
In 2015 longtime newspaperman and Iowa historian Mike Chapman published a biography of Branstad, Iowa's Record-Setting Governor: The Terry Branstad Story. The book details Branstad's youth on the family farm, his high school days in Forest City, and his rise in politics.[80]
Electoral history
1972 election for Iowa House of Representatives District 8:
Terry Branstad (R), 59.0%
Elmer Selbrand (D), 41.0%
1974 election for Iowa House of Representatives District 8:
Terry Branstad (R), 68.7%
Jean Haugland (D), 31.3%
1976 election for Iowa House of Representatives District 8:
Terry Branstad (R), 70.4%
Franklin Banwart (D), 29.6%
1978 Republican primary election for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa:
^Branstad's maternal grandfather was Louis Edward Garland, whose brother Max Hyman (later "Harry") Garland is the grandfather of Merrick Garland. Max and Louis were born in Vagova, Lithuania, then part of the Pale of Settlement within the Russian Empire; they immigrated to the United States together, arriving in New York City on December 7, 1907 and listing their race as "Hebrew". The Garland brothers then settled in Council Bluffs, Iowa.[16][17][18]
^Garland, Max (April 14, 1936). "Declaration of Intent: citizenship application". United States Department of Labor Immigration and Naturalization Service. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
"Terry Branstad (R) > Background". The Washington Post. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2013. [...] After college, Branstad served in the Army for two years and received the Army Commendation Medal. [...]
^ ab"1983–1999, 2011– Terry Branstad". Iowa Heritage Digital Collections. State Library of Iowa. Retrieved November 2, 2013. [...] Following two years in the U.S. Army, where he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Branstad earned his J.D. degree from the Drake University Law School. [...]
^globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC – Ames, IA -. "Board Members – Living History Farms". www.lhf.org. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Obradovich, Kathie (June 2, 2010). "DM Tea Party scorecard: 'No' to Branstad, Roberts". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013. [...] About Branstad, the group says, among other things, 'History of raising taxes, not a true conservative, increased the size of government each year he held office, built a state-owned phone company.' [...]
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