Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds got her shot at national stardom when she was tapped to give the GOP response to President Biden’s State of the Union. And while that slot has at times been more of a curse than a blessing for those chosen, Reynolds’ response in the shadow of the Iowa Capitol was generally well-received..
Early on, it seemed Reynolds could face real opposition in her bid for a second full term. The then-lieutenant governor took over the job in 2017 when longtime Gov. Terry Branstad stepped down to become President Trump’s Ambassador to China. She was elected to a full term in 2018, beating Democrat Fred Hubbell by 2.8 points in a strong Democratic year that also saw two Republican-held House seats in Iowa change parties.
Given that close margin in her first campaign, we initially rated this contest as Likely Republican. But in December we shifted the race to Solid Republican, where it remains. Top Democrats in the state passed on challenging Reynolds, including Auditor Rob Sand and Rep. Cindy Axne. Former Rep. Abby
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.