“Iowans are perturbed”

The Des Moines Register’s “Iowa Poll” finds that — quoting from the article now — “Iowans are perturbed.”

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

At 2 p.m. this afternoon the Register will post more of its poll results online, specifically the numbers relating to Governor Chet Culver’s reelect prospects.  (UPDATE:  HERE IT IS.) The poll shows a head-to-head match-up with Culver and former Governor Terry Branstad (Branstad leads in the poll by 20 points) and a head-to-head with Culver and Bob Vander Plaats, another Republican candidate for governor (Vander Plaats is ahead in that head-to-head, too, but by a narrow three percent margin — that’s within the margin of error).

Culver’s campaign manager issued a statement his morning.  Read it below.

(DES MOINES)  – Statement from Governor Culver’s Campaign Manager Abby Curran in response to the latest Iowa Poll released today: “Governor Culver is doing what Iowans elected him to do, which is moving Iowa forward with bold ideas and building a strong economic future for all Iowans. Governor Culver is not paying attention to who’s up or who’s down in the polls.”

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Michael Kiernan sees a ray of sunshine here.  Read Kiernan’s statement below.

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Poll released today shows candidate Terry Branstad has fallen by 4 points in the polls in the two weeks following the announcement of his attempted political comeback. Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan released this statement:
 
“As Governor, Branstad horribly mismanaged state government, kept two sets of books, and raised taxes on Iowans. Now that he’s a candidate, Branstad is flip-flopping on issues, including on taxes, to help him survive the Republican primary. 

“Branstad should have gone up in the polls after announcing. The poll released today shows that when Iowans hear about the Two Faces of Terry Branstad, his numbers have only one way to go: down.
 
“The fact is Governor Culver is working on passing a balanced budget, fighting for policies that will help Iowa’s hard-working families, and making the tough decisions that will continue to move this state forward. As always, he is focused on governing, not politics.”

Nothing yet from the Branstad or Vander Plaats campaigns.  I suspect Branstad will use a phrase he’s used before:  “The only poll that counts is the one taken on Election Day.”