Former House Speaker Christopher Rants dropped his bid for Governor today, leaving Bob Vander Plaats, Terry Branstad, and Rod Roberts as the last three standing in what had been a veritable Republican free for all.
From my point of view, I would have been happier had Vander Plaats dropped out (he's scary right wing) but narrowing the field a bit defines what this race is really about for the GOP, I think. It's been 12 years since they put someone in the Governor's mansion, so they're looking for a winner- but culturally speaking, the Varnum Decision has them fired up (why, I don't know- but then again, I'm not a Republican and therefore don't think it's the end of the world as we know when two dudes want to get hitched.) Vander Plaats is their kick-ass cultural warrior, but Branstad is a proven winner. And Iowans right now (at least a surprising number of people I've talked too) remember 16 years in the Governor's mansion that didn't really turn out all that badly. At this point, I'd say this race is Branstad's to lose- but if Vander Plaats engages in an all-out war of attrition to get the nomination, keep a close eye on the third guy: Rod Roberts. From what I've read about him, he seems to be a sort of nice blend of the two of them and could be seen as a decent alternative if the top two start savaging each other too much for the liking of the voters.
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