2022 Iowa gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2022 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2022 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Iowa. Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds won re-election to a second full term in a landslide,^[1] defeating Democratic nominee Deidre DeJear with 58.0% of the vote.

2022 Iowa gubernatorial election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
Turnout	55.06% 6.09pp
Nominee Kim Reynolds Deidre DeJear Party Republican Democratic Running mate Adam Gregg Eric Van Lancker Popular vote 709,198 482,950 Percentage 58.04% 39.53%
County results Congressional district results State Senate districts results State House district results Precinct results Reynolds:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% DeJear:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      No votes
Governor before election Kim Reynolds Republican Elected Governor Kim Reynolds Republican

First elected as lieutenant governor in 2010, Reynolds assumed the governorship on May 24, 2017, following the resignation of Governor Terry Branstad to become the U.S. Ambassador to China. She was elected in her own right in 2018 in what was considered a minor upset, before dramatically increasing her vote share in 2022.^[2]

Reynolds flipped seven counties that had voted Democratic in the previous gubernatorial election: Black Hawk, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jefferson, Lee, and Scott.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kim Reynolds, incumbent governor^[3]

Declined

• Ashley Hinson, U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district and former state representative (ran for re-election)^[4]

Results

Republican primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kim Reynolds (incumbent)	185,293	99.03%
	Write-in		1,808	0.97%
Total votes			187,101	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Deidre DeJear, small business owner and nominee for Secretary of State of Iowa in 2018^[6]

Withdrew

• Ras Smith, state representative for the 62nd district^[7][8]

Declined

• Cindy Axne, U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd congressional district (ran for re-election)^[9]
• Abby Finkenauer, former U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district (ran for U.S. Senate)^[10][11][12]
• Rob Sand, Iowa state auditor (ran for re-election)^[13][14][15]

Endorsements

Deidre DeJear

U.S. senators

• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts^[16]

Organizations

• Democracy for America^[17]

Results

Democratic primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Deidre DeJear	145,555	99.45%
	Write-in		801	0.55%
Total votes			146,356	100.0%

Minor parties and independents

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Rick Stewart, Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa in 2018, and independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014.^[18][19] Marco Battaglia of Des Moines was Stewart's running mate.^[20]

Independents

Declared

• Robert Bond^[21]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[22]	Solid R	July 26, 2022
Inside Elections[23]	Solid R	July 22, 2022
Sabato's Crystal Ball[24]	Safe R	June 29, 2022
Politico[25]	Solid R	August 12, 2022
RCP[26]	Likely R	January 10, 2022
Fox News[27]	Solid R	May 12, 2022
538[28]	Solid R	July 31, 2022
Elections Daily[29]	Safe R	November 7, 2022

Endorsements

Kim Reynolds (R)

Executive Branch officials

• Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2018–2019) and former governor of South Carolina (2011–2017)^[30]
• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)^[31]

U.S. senators

• Marsha Blackburn, U.S. senator from Tennessee (2019–present)^[32]
• Joni Ernst, U.S. senator from Iowa (2015–present)^[33]
• Chuck Grassley, U.S. senator from Iowa (1981–present)^[33]
• Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida (2019–present)^[34]

U.S. representatives

• Ashley Hinson, U.S. representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district (2021–2023)^[33]
• Mariannette Miller-Meeks, U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district (2021–2023)^[34]

State legislators

• Chris Cournoyer, state senator from the 49th district (2019–present)^[35]
• Norlin Mommsen, state representative from the 97th district (2015–present)^[35]
• Zach Nunn, state senator from the 15th district (2019–2023) and Republican nominee for Iowa's 3rd congressional district in 2022^[33]

Organizations

• Iowa Farm Bureau^[36]
• Maggie's List^[37][31]
• National Right to Life Committee^[38]
• NRA Political Victory Fund^[39][38]
• Susan B. Anthony List^[38]

Newspapers

• Sioux City Journal^[40]

Deidre DeJear (D)

State legislators

• David Maxwell, state representative from the 76th district (2013–present) (Republican)^[41]

Individuals

• Fred Hubbell, businessman and nominee for governor in 2018^[42]

Organizations

• The Collective PAC^[43]
• Democracy for America^[44]
• EMILY's List^[45]
• Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund^[46]
• Iowa Unity Coalition^[47]
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[48]
• One Iowa Action^[49]

Labor unions

• AFL–CIO^[50]

Newspapers

• The Daily Iowan^[51]
• The Des Moines Register^[52]
• Storm Lake Times^[53]

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Kim Reynolds (R)	Deidre DeJear (D)	Undecided [a]	Margin
FiveThirtyEight	March 2 – October 19, 2022	October 20, 2022	52.6%	36.6%	10.8%	Reynolds +15.9

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[b]	Margin of error	Kim Reynolds (R)	Deidre DeJear (D)	Rick Stewart (L)	Other	Undecided
Selzer & Co.	October 31 – November 3, 2022	801 (LV)	± 3.5%	54%	37%	4%	2%[c]	3%
Cygnal (R)[A]	October 26–27, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	57%	38%	–	–	5%
Civiqs	October 22–25, 2022	623 (LV)	± 5.2%	54%	42%	–	2%[d]	1%
The Tarrance Group (R)[B]	October 15–19, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.1%	56%	39%	–	–	5%
Selzer & Co.	October 9–12, 2022	620 (LV)	± 3.9%	52%	35%	4%	4%[e]	4%
Emerson College	October 2–4, 2022	959 (LV)	± 3.1%	53%	36%	1%	2%[f]	9%
Cygnal (R)[A]	October 2–4, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	59%	38%	–	–	3%
Cygnal (R)[A]	July 13–14, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	56%	41%	–	–	3%
Selzer & Co.	July 10–13, 2022	597 (LV)	± 4.0%	48%	31%	5%	5%	9%
Selzer & Co.	February 28 – March 2, 2022	612 (LV)	± 4.0%	51%	43%	–	1%[g]	5%
Cygnal (R) Archived February 28, 2022, at the Wayback Machine[A]	February 20–22, 2022	610 (LV)	± 3.9%	55%	38%	–	–	7%

Debates

2022 Iowa gubernatorial general election debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee  W  Withdrawn
					Kim Reynolds	Deidre DeJear
2	Oct. 18, 2022	Local ABC 5		Youtube	P	P

Results

Swing by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +10-15%
•   Democratic — +5-10%
•   Democratic — +0-5%
•   Republican — +0-5%
•   Republican — +5-10%
•   Republican — +10-15%
•   Republican — +15-20%
•   Republican — +20-25%
•   Republican — +25-30%
•   Republican — +>30%

Trend by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +10-15%
•   Democratic — +5-10%
•   Democratic — +0-5%
•   Republican — +0-5%
•   Republican — +5-10%
•   Republican — +10-15%
•   Republican — +15-20%
•   Republican — +20-25%
•   Republican — +25-30%
•   Republican — +>30%

2022 Iowa gubernatorial election^[54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kim Reynolds (incumbent) Adam Gregg (incumbent)	709,198	58.04%	+7.78%
	Democratic	Deidre DeJear Eric Van Lacker	482,950	39.53%	−8.00%
	Libertarian	Rick Stewart Marco Battaglia	28,998	2.37%	+0.84%
	Write-in		718	0.06%	+0.02%
Total votes			1,220,864	100.00
Turnout			1,230,416	55.06%
Registered electors			2,234,666
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Black Hawk (largest city: Waterloo)
• Clinton (largest city: Clinton)
• Des Moines (largest city: Burlington)
• Dubuque (largest city: Dubuque)
• Jefferson (largest city: Fairfield)
• Lee (largest city: Fort Madison)
• Scott (largest city: Davenport)

By congressional district

Reynolds won all 4 congressional districts.^[55]

District	Reynolds	DeJear	Representative
1st	55%	43%	Mariannette Miller-Meeks
2nd	57%	41%	Ashley Hinson
3rd	53%	44%	Cindy Axne (117th Congress)
			Zach Nunn (118th Congress)
4th	69%	29%	Randy Feenstra

See also

• 2022 Iowa elections

Notes

1. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
2. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
3. "Someone else" with 1%; "Don't want to tell" with 1%
4. "Someone else" with 2%
5. "Someone else" with 3%; "Would not vote" with 1%
6. "Someone else" with 2%
7. "Would not vote" (volunteered answer) with 1%

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation
2. Poll conducted for the NRSC.

References

1. Dress, Brad. "Iowa's GOP governor Reynolds launches reelection bid". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
2. "Gov. Kim Reynolds secures second term, promises policies to let Iowans 'keep more of your money'". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
3. Dress, Brad. "Iowa's GOP governor Reynolds launches reelection bid". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
4. Dunlap, Natalie. "Rep. Ashley Hinson announces reelection campaign, with support of Iowa Republicans, Sen. Ted Cruz". www.dailyiowan.com. The Daily Iowan. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
5. "Official Results - 2022 Primary Election". IOWA SECRETARY OF STATE. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
6. "2022 Iowa Primary Election guide". May 2, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
7. "State Rep. Ras Smith announces campaign for Iowa governor". www.KCRG.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
8. Gruber-Miller, Stephen (January 5, 2022). "Democrat Ras Smith suspends campaign for Iowa governor". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
9. Pfannenstiel, Brianne. "Cindy Axne will run for reelection in Congress, closing the door on Iowa gubernatorial bid". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
10. "Capitol Ideas: Iowa Democrats hope for big year in 2021". www.thegazette.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
11. "Iowa taking a hard turn right | Storm Lake Times". www.stormlake.com. January 26, 2021. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
12. Merica, Dan (July 22, 2021). "Abby Finkenauer announces Senate bid in Iowa". CNN. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
13. Gruber-Miller, Stephen (December 7, 2021). "Democrat Rob Sand to seek reelection as Iowa state auditor, won't run for governor in 2022". www.desmoinesregister.com. The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
14. "Rob Sand may run for higher office in 2022; Cindy Axne non-committal". Bleeding Heartland. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
15. Murphy, Erin. "Iowa Democrats hope for brighter future". The Gazette. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
16. "Endorsements". elizabethwarren.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
17. "Democracy for America : Our Candidates". Democracy for America. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
18. Pfannenstiel, Brianne. "Rick Stewart, Iowa Libertarian candidate for governor, wants to 'Make Iowa Nice Again'". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
19. "2022 a rebuilding year for Iowa Libertarians". www.thegazette.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
20. Torch, Iowa (March 3, 2022). "Stewart files to be the Libertarian Party of Iowa candidate for Iowa Governor | The Iowa Torch".
21. "Reynolds' challengers hope for lightning strike". July 9, 2021. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
22. "2022 Governor Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
23. "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
24. "2022 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
25. "Iowa Governor Race 2022". Politico. April 1, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
26. "2022 Governor Races". RCP. January 10, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
27. "2022 Election Forecast". Fox News. May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
28. "2022 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
29. Szymanski, Joe (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Unveils Final 2022 Midterm Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
30. Brianne Pfannenstiel (May 27, 2021). "Nikki Haley, former ambassador and governor, gives Gov. Kim Reynolds an early reelection endorsement". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
31. Weig, Nick (June 5, 2022). "Former President Trump Formally Endorses Gov. Kim Reynolds". Cedar Rapids News.
32. "US Sen. Marsha Blackburn, campaigning in Iowa: 'I am not' running for president". The Des Moines Register.
33. "Governor hosts 5th annual Harvest Festival ahead of November election". www.kcci.com. October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
34. "S. Sen. Rick Scott tailgates with Miller-Meeks, Reynolds". iowacapitaldispatch.com. September 7, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
35. "Republicans rally during Reynolds' Clinton stop". www.clintonherald.com. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
36. "Iowa Farm Bureau names Senator Chuck Grassley, Governor Kim Reynolds and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig a 'Friend of Agriculture'". www.iowafarmbureau.com. September 7, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
37. "2022 Candidates". www.maggieslist.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
38. "Kim Reynolds' Ratings and Endorsements". justfacts.votesmart.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
39. "Iowa Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
40. "Journal Editorial Board endorses Franken, Reynolds, Feenstra for U.S. Senate, Iowa 4th district, Iowa governor". November 5, 2022.
41. "House Republican Who Opposed Reynolds' Voucher Plans Endorses Democrats". November 2, 2022.
42. "Fred Hubbell endorses Deidre DeJear in Iowa governor's race, providing fresh support for the Democrat". The Des Moines Register.
43. "Iowa Campaign Almanac: Deidre DeJear endorsement, Abby Finkenauer campaign staffs up, Joni Ernst endorses Brenda Bird". www.thegazette.com. February 2, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
44. "Our Candidates". democracyforamerica.com. Democracy for America.
45. "Candidates for Governor". emilyslist.org.
46. "CCI Action endorses Deidre DeJear for Governor 2022". cciaction.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
47. "Iowa Unity Coalition Endorses Deidre DeJear for Iowa Governor". www.iowaunitycoalition.com. March 7, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
48. "Deidre DeJear Gets National Pro-Choice Group Endorsement". September 8, 2022.
49. "Endorsements - One Iowa Action". oneiowaaction.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
50. "Election 2022". Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL–CIO.
51. "Editorial Board | the DI Editorial Board endorses DeJear".
52. "Editorial: Deidre DeJear best understands where Iowa is and what it needs". The Des Moines Register. October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
53. "Editorial: DeJear for governor - Storm Lake Times Pilot". October 28, 2022.
54. "2022 General Election". Iowa Secretary of State. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
55. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRXYCnfsuOCgN6RiQhkxlzl5yqY9EUJkYDrgEW_z4NhezMAMQzOz6zuV32-5T-oqj_dlXUcURE7d9yu/pubhtml#

External links

Official campaign websites

• Deidre DeJear (D) for Governor
• Kim Reynolds (R) for Governor
• Rick Stewart (L) for Governor