Governors of Iowa

History of Iowa Governors

The first governor of Iowa was Ansel Briggs, who was elected to the position in 1846. Briggs served for four years and was a representative of the Democratic Party. Following Briggs, Iowa saw some shifting political parties, changing between the Democratic Party and Whig Party.

Beginning in 1858, a robust line of Republican governors held office, continuing through the modern-day. Between 1858 and today, there have only been eight Democratic governors. The most recent Democrat to represent Iowa was Chet Culver, who served as governor between 2007 and 2011. Since then, Republicans have continued to hold office, even to the present-day governor.

Current Iowa Governor

The Current Iowa governor is Kim Reynolds, who began serving as governor in 2017. Previously, Reynolds served as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. She represented the Republican Party and replaced the former governor, Terry Brandstad. The former governor, Brandstad, stepped down from his position as governor to serve as the US Ambassador to China. Reynolds is the first woman elected as the governor of Iowa but won her full-term election narrowly. She beat the Democratic competitor by just 2.5% of the vote, which made a much closer election than anticipated by political experts.