Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician who is the 42nd Governor of Iowa, in office since January 2011. Branstad was also the 39th Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999, and he was President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. Branstad is the longest-serving governor in Iowa history, and based on his victory in the 2014 elections, may become the longest serving governor in US history as well, should he complete a year and several days of his sixth term in office. In his 2010 political comeback, Branstad won a three-way primary election for the Republican nomination to run for governor in the general election. He faced incumbent Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, and four third party candidates on November 2, 2010. He won the general election in November, defeating Culver by 52.9% to 43.1%. Branstad entered the 2010 race as the front runner for both the primary and general elections. Independent polling in 2009 indicated that his approval ratings hovered in the 70% range. He was widely seen as the front runner for the Republican nomination, and had wide leads in aggregate polling against the scandal-ravaged Governor Culver. [ - ]

Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician who is the 42nd Governor of Iowa, in office... [ + ]