Former Governor Terry Branstad hasn’t officially announced yet that he’ll seek a fifth term as governor, but he now has a campaign manager.
Jeff Boeyink has resigned from his job as executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa to lead the “Terry Branstad 2010 Committee.” Richard Schwarm of Lake Mills, Branstad’s ex-law partner and an organizer of the Branstad 2010 effort, announced Boeyink’s hiring this morning.
“If Governor Branstad decides he is going to run, part of what I and others were looking for were the best people to be involved in his campaign, along with other things,” Schwarm says. “Jeff is a great talent in Iowa — long experience, great individual…a great catch. We visited with him and had no idea if he would take it and he has agreed to step into this role and we’re very pleased.”
Boeyink probably wouldn’t leave a full-time job for just a temporary one, so a Branstad candidacy seems a sure thing now. “I think individuals could certainly draw the conclusions that you have,” Schwarm said this morning during an interview with Radio Iowa.
In a prepared statement, Schwarm called the hiring of Boeyink “the next natural step” in the process. Schwarm used words like “our” and “we” in the written statement and in his interview with Radio Iowa, suggesting that while Branstad isn’t speaking publicly yet, he is a participant in the process — including Boeyink’s decision to manage the “Terry Branstad 2010 Committee.”
“Governor Branstad is aware of the hire,” Schwarm said.
Boeyink has been executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa for the past eight months. He was president of Iowans for Tax Relief for more than two decades. The written statement Schwarm issued to announce Boeyink’s new role as manager of “Terry Branstad 2010” suggested the move “does not signal any change in Terry Branstad’s status as a potential gubernatorial candidate.”
Branstad is currently serving as president of Des Moines University and the statement indicates Branstad “will make his plans (about a run for a fifth term as governor) known at a future date.”