The 1994 Iowa gubernatorial election took place November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad ran for re-election to a fourth term as governor. Branstad narrowly defeated a tough challenger in his primary election, emerging victorious by fewer than 12,000 votes. On the Democratic side, Attorney General of Iowa Bonnie Campbell won her party's nomination and both Branstad and Campbell moved on to the general election. Branstad ultimately won re-election to a fourth term as governor, defeating Campbell by a comfortable margin.
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 County results Branstad: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Campbell: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates
- Terry Branstad, incumbent Governor of Iowa
- Fred Grandy, U.S. Representative from Sioux City and former actor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Terry Branstad (inc.) | 161,228 | 51.80 | |
| Republican | Fred Grandy | 149,809 | 48.13 | |
| Write-in | 240 | 0.08 | ||
| Total votes | 311,277 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bonnie Campbell, Attorney General of Iowa
- Darold Powers
- Bill Reichardt, former State Senator from Iowa City and former Green Bay Packers football player
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bonnie Campbell | 99,718 | 77.71 | |
| Democratic | Bill Reichardt | 24,630 | 19.19 | |
| Democratic | Darold Powers | 3,170 | 2.47 | |
| Write-in | 799 | 0.62 | ||
| Total votes | 128,317 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Governor Terry 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.[2]
Polling
| Source | Date | Branstad (R) | Campbell (D) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Register | Nov. 7, 1994 | 47% | 34% |
| KCCI-TV | Nov. 4, 1994 | 47% | 43% |
| Cedar Rapids Gazette | Oct. 23, 1994 | 45% | 43% |
| Des Moines Register | Oct. 7, 1994 | 45% | 41% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Terry Branstad (inc.) | 566,395 | 56.80% | -3.81% | |
| Democratic | Bonnie Campbell | 414,453 | 41.56% | +2.71% | |
| Independent | Richard O'Dell Hughes | 5,505 | 0.55% | ||
| Natural Law | Veronica Bells Butler | 3,737 | 0.37% | ||
| Libertarian | Carl Eric Olsen | 2,772 | 0.28% | ||
| Socialist Workers | Michael Galati | 770 | 0.08% | -0.36% | |
| Write-ins | 3,616 | 0.36% | |||
| Majority | 151,942 | 15.24% | -6.52% | ||
| Turnout | 997,248 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||