Governor Chet Culver says 2010 will be a "challenging" year to face reelection. "The bottom line is I’m doing everything I can to prepare for a challenging race. Iowa is one of the most competitive states in the nation," Culver says.
"I’ve always prepared well in advance for campaigns and elections. I feel great about the team that we’ve assembled. John Frew and Teresa Villmain are two of the best in the business and we will be ready and we expect to win."
Culver has hired John Frew, a former aide to Senator Tom Harkin, to serve as his chief of staff. Teresa Villmain, a longtime political operative who worked on Tom Vilsack’s campaigns, is Culver’s chief campaign consultant. Culver, a Democrat, doesn’t have much to say about the prospect of facing former Republican Governor Terry Branstad who is considering a return to politics.
"As I said yesterday, I expect a very difficult race next year. It’s unclear at this point who my opponent will be. We’ll find out next June after the Republican primary," Culver said this morning in response to a reporter’s question. This spring Branstad said he would not run again for governor, but Branstad now says he’s considering it after some of his fellow Republicans urged him to run.