Terry Branstad

Branstad attending the recommissioning ceremony for the USS Iowa, April 28, 1984

Branstad with President Bill Clinton in 1993

When elected governor at age 36, Branstad became the youngest chief executive in Iowa's history.[19] Reelected in 1986, 1990, and 1994, he left office as Iowa's longest-serving governor. He served as Chairman of the National Governors Association in 1989–90, and also was Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. In 1997 he chaired the Education Commission of the States, the Republican Governors Association, and the Governors' Ethanol Coalition.

In 1983 Branstad vetoed a bill to establish a state lottery.[20]

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.[21][22] In his first year as governor, the state budget had a $90 million deficit.[23] 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.[24][25]

Branstad (left) with Fred Thompson and Robert D. Ray in 2007

Branstad focused most of his efforts outside of politics after leaving office in early 1999. He founded Branstad and Associates, LLC[26] and was also a partner in the firm of Kaufman, Pattee, Branstad & Miller[27] and a financial advisor for Robert W. Baird and Co.[28]

In August 2003 Branstad accepted an offer from Des Moines University to become its president.[18] On October 16, 2009, he announced his retirement from Des Moines University to run again for governor.[29]

President George W. Bush appointed Branstad to chair the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education.[30] 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.[31]

Branstad serves on the boards of Conmed Health Management Inc,[32] American Future Fund,[33] the Iowa Health System, Liberty Bank, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,[34] and Living History Farms.[35]

Branstad in 2011

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.[36] 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%.[37]

On June 8, 2010, Branstad won the Republican gubernatorial nomination,[38] but when opposing candidate Bob Vander Plaats conceded, he did not endorse Branstad.[39]

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."[40] 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.[41]

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.[42] Branstad won the primary with 83% of the vote.

In the general election, Branstad faced Democratic nominee State Senator Jack Hatch and won with 59% of the vote.

Branstad rescinded an executive order by his predecessor Tom Vilsack that restored voting rights to approximately 115,000 felons who had completed their sentences.[43] 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.[43][44]

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.[45] The bill, Senate File 295,[45] provided for the state's largest tax cut in history, including an estimated $4.4 billion in property tax reform[46] and an estimated $90 million of annual income tax relief, in part in the form of an increase in the earned income tax credit.[47] The bill also included significant reforms to education and health care.[47]

A June 2013 Business Journals analysis of 45 of the country's 50 governors ranked Branstad 28th in job creation.[48] 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.[49]

On April 13, 2017, with large Republican majorities in the Iowa legislature,[50][51] 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.[52]

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.[53]