A majority of Iowa voters like Gov. Terry Branstad and approve of the job he's doing, but almost the same percentage say he doesn't deserve another term, a new poll has found.
According to a
Quinnipiac University poll of 1,256 registered Iowa voters, 50 percent view the Republican favorably, compared to 37 percent who view him unfavorably, while 51 percent give him a positive job approval rating, compared to 33 percent who disapprove.
At the same time, 46 percent of respondents in the July 15-17 survey say he does not deserve another term, while 43 percent would like to see him run again next year.
The discrepancy, it seems, can be explained by Branstad's staying power: He has served almost 19 years, the first time around as the state's 39th governor from 1983 to 1999, and most recently as the 41st governor after being elected again in 2010.
On that score, 54 percent of voters say he has been in office long enough, compared to just 37 percent who think he should seek another term.
"Iowans have a nuanced opinion about their off and on-again governor, who has spent a total of 19 years in office. But by the barest of majorities — 50 percent —[ say] they like Gov. Terry Branstad and think he does a good job, but at the same time they think he has been in office long enough," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"The question, should the governor seek another term, is whether their support for Branstad will in the end supersede voters' view that it's time for him to go."
Branstad can console himself with the fact that all of his potential rivals are almost universally unknown. The survey found that of the three possible 2014 Democratic candidates, the number of voters who don't know enough to form an opinion ranges from 77 percent to 92 percent.
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