Branstad Holds Big Lead in Primary

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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June 07, 2010

Branstad Holds Big Lead in Primary

Though a couple of earlier polls suggested it might be closer, a new Des Moines Register poll finds former Gov. Terry Branstad (R) with a sizable lead in the Republican race for governor.

Branstad leads with 57%, followed by Bob Vander Plaats (R) at 29% and Rod Roberts (R) at 8%.

Said pollster Ann Selzer: "What Branstad needed to accomplish was to build an identity with the electorate that wouldn't alienate the far right but wouldn't commit him to a far-right agenda. And to me that's what I see playing out."

The winner faces Gov. Chet Culver (D) in November.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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June 07, 2010