AUDIO: Branstad kicks off bids for sixth term, longevity record

Governor Terry Branstad made his bid for another term official tonight, with a campaign event in West Des Moines. Listen here.

Here’s the email sent to supporters:

Friend,

Tonight we have made our intentions clear—we are seeking re-election!

It has been our honor to serve you and the people of Iowa these past three years. It is an exciting time for our state as we have restored responsible budgeting practices, transformed our education system, modernized our healthcare, created more than 130,000 new jobs and signed the largest tax cut in Iowa history. These are accomplishments that we are proud of and will continue to build upon.  

Every day we are working to build Iowa’s future for our children and grandchildren; an Iowa future that builds on the best we have to offer, that embraces the challenges we face, but empowers our families and main street businesses for unparalleled prosperity. We will be traveling around the state the next few days to share our vision for building Iowa’s future. Please get your tickets and find the event closest to you through our website www.BranstadReynolds.com/Events. As always, we are humbled by your support and look forward to working with you for four more years.

Sincerely,   Gov. Terry Branstad  Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds

State Senator Jack Hatch — a Democrat from Des Moines who’s running for governor — issued a statement.

DES MOINES — The Jack Hatch for Governor campaign released the following statement from Campaign Manager Grant Woodard in response to Gov. Branstad’s announcement of his 2014 campaign Wednesday:

“Wow, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday was “Unity Tuesday,” when Terry Branstad offered a bland and timid agenda and gave legislators an embarrassingly short list of to-do items.  That gave way to “Divide-and-Conquer Wednesday,” chock full of partisan rhetoric and campaign swagger. Tuesday’s speech ran 25 minutes.  Wednesday’s event took up much more of the Governor’s precious time.  There couldn’t be a clearer picture of Branstad’s priorities: campaigning before governing, party before Iowans, slogans before specifics.    But then, this is the politics of the 20th century – say one thing and do another – and hope Iowans won’t notice.  I just turned 30, a couple of months after he first took office, and growing up I never imagined Iowa would still be stuck with this Governor in 2014.  It is time for him to go.”

The chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party issued a statement:

Des Moines – Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan released the following statement tonight on Governor Branstad’s announcement that he will seek reelection:  

“Just like we saw in yesterday’s Condition of the State address, Terry Branstad kicked off yet another reelection campaign chock full of no ideas, no policies and no bold vision for Iowa.  Tonight he coined his campaign slogan as ‘Building Iowa’s Future,’ – but that’s only because he wants Iowans to forget his endless failures of mismanaging his administration and fudging his own job numbers.  From putting corporations and the wealthy ahead of Iowa’s middle class, to restricting women from making their own health decisions, and turning his back on increasing the minimum wage, it’s clear that Terry Branstad is letting Iowa fall behind the rest of the country.  Simply put, Terry Branstad would not build Iowa’s future, but move us further into the past.”

And the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa issued a statement:

Iowa GOP Proud to Work with Governor Branstad State Chairman Looks Forward to Republican Victory in November

DES MOINES, Iowa- In response to Terry Branstad’s announcement on Wednesday evening that he would run for a sixth term as Iowa Governor, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman A.J. Spiker issued the following statement: “I was pleased to hear Terry Branstad will be running for an unprecedented sixth term as Governor of Iowa. There’s no stronger candidate than a five term incumbent Governor to have at the top of our Republican ticket this November. I look forward to working with Governor Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds, our nominees for U.S. Senate and Congress, our candidates for statewide office  and all our Republican candidates running for State House and State Senate. Over the next 10 months the Republican Party of Iowa will be working hard to reach out to voters throughout the state and show them the Republican Party is the party offering the greatest solutions when it comes to creating jobs, lowering taxes and providing greater economic prosperity.”