The 2018 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds ran for election to a full term, facing Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell, Libertarian Jake Porter, and independent candidate Gary Siegwarth.
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Turnout | 61.15% 8.44pp | |||||||||||||||||||
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Reynolds: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Hubbell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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On Election Day, Reynolds won 50.3% of the vote, a 2.8% margin of victory, and carried 88 of Iowa's 99 counties. She became the first female governor of Iowa elected in her own right. This was the first Iowa gubernatorial election since 1998 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president.
After the 2016 presidential election, President Donald Trump nominated then-Governor Terry Branstad to be the United States Ambassador to China. When Branstad was confirmed by the United States Senate, he resigned as Iowa Governor to assume the ambassadorship on May 24, 2017. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds then became Governor of Iowa.[1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kim Reynolds (incumbent) | 94,118 | 98.63 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 1,307 | 1.37 | |
Total votes | 95,425 | 100 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Nate Boulton |
Cathy Glasson |
Fred Hubbell |
Andrea McGuire |
Jon Neiderbach |
John Norris |
Ross Wilburn |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selzer & Company | May 13–15, 2018 | 501 | ± 4.4% | 20% | 13% | 31% | 5% | – | 5% | 3% | 10% | 14% |
Remington | May 5–6, 2018 | 2,315 | ± 2.0% | 20% | 7% | 46% | 3% | – | 5% | 1% | – | 18% |
20-20 Insight Archived November 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine | November 8–10, 2017 | 762 | ± 3.6% | 13% | 6% | 22% | 3% | 2% | 5% | 1% | – | 47% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Fred Hubbell | 99,245 | 55.41 | |
Democratic | Cathy Glasson | 36,815 | 20.55 | |
Democratic | John Norris | 20,498 | 11.44 | |
Democratic | Andy McGuire | 9,404 | 5.25 | |
Democratic | Nate Boulton (withdrawn) | 9,082 | 5.07 | |
Democratic | Ross Wilburn | 3,880 | 2.17 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 200 | 0.01 | |
Total votes | 179,124 | 100 |
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson received 3.8 percent of the votes in Iowa in 2016, surpassing the 2 percent threshold to attain full political party status.[77] As a result, the Libertarian Party was allowed to hold a primary to select a nominee.[77]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Libertarian | Jake Porter | 991 | 53.92 | |
Libertarian | Marco Battaglia | 705 | 38.36 | |
Libertarian | Write-ins | 142 | 7.73 | |
Total votes | 1,838 | 100 |
Dates | Location | Reynolds | Hubbell | Link |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 17, 2018 | Sioux City, Iowa | Participant | Participant | Full debate - C-SPAN |
October 21, 2018 | Davenport, Iowa | Participant | Participant | Full debate - C-SPAN |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[90] | Tossup | October 26, 2018 |
The Washington Post[91] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
FiveThirtyEight[92] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
Rothenberg Political Report[93] | Tilt D (flip) | November 1, 2018 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[94] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
RealClearPolitics[95] | Tossup | November 4, 2018 |
Daily Kos[96] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
Fox News[97][a] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
Politico[98] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
Governing[99] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
Fred Hubbell (D) |
Jake Porter (L) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change Research | November 2–4, 2018 | 961 | – | 46% | 49% | 3% | 1%[100] | – |
Selzer & Company | October 30 – November 2, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 44% | 46% | 2% | 1% | 7% |
Emerson College | October 29 – November 1, 2018 | 1,462 | ± 2.7% | 49% | 45% | – | 2% | 5% |
University of Iowa | October 8–22, 2018 | 452 | – | 40% | 48% | – | 5% | 6% |
Selzer & Company | September 17–20, 2018 | 555 | ± 4.2% | 41% | 43% | 7% | 0% | 9% |
Emerson College | September 6–8, 2018 | 1,000 | ± 3.2% | 31% | 36% | – | 7% | 26% |
Selzer & Company | January 28–31, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 42% | 37% | – | 12% | 10% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
Nate Boulton (D) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selzer & Company | January 28–31, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 41% | 37% | 11% | 11% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
Cathy Glasson (D) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selzer & Company | January 28–31, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 44% | 31% | 14% | 12% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
Generic Democrat |
Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20/20 Insights (D-Mowrer) | June 19–21, 2017 | 526 | ± 4.3% | 44% | 39% | 17% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
John Norris (D) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selzer & Company | January 28–31, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 41% | 30% | 14% | 15% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kim Reynolds (R) |
Andy McGuire (D) |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selzer & Company | January 28–31, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 42% | 30% | 15% | 13% |
While pre-election polls showed Reynolds trailing Hubbell,[101] Reynolds won 50.3% of the vote on Election Day, primarily by sweeping every county west of Des Moines and dominating the 4th Congressional District (she lost the other three).[102] Ultimately, she carried 88 of Iowa's 99 counties.[103] She became the first female governor of Iowa elected in her own right.[104]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kim Reynolds (incumbent) | 667,275 | 50.26% | -8.73% | |
Democratic | Fred Hubbell | 630,986 | 47.53% | +10.26% | |
Libertarian | Jake Porter | 21,426 | 1.61% | -0.19% | |
Independent | Gary Siegwarth | 7,463 | 0.56% | N/A | |
Write-in | 488 | 0.04% | N/A | ||
Total votes | 1,327,638 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Despite losing, Hubbell won 3 of 4 congressional districts.[106]
District | Reynolds | Hubbell | Representative |
---|---|---|---|
1st | 48.05% | 49.31% | Abby Finkenauer |
2nd | 47.29% | 50.72% | Dave Loebsack |
3rd | 47.03% | 50.94% | Cindy Axne |
4th | 59.33% | 38.63% | Steve King |