Seven state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Iowa. The general election took place November 4, 2014, following a primary on June 3.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Iowa, state law provides for a closed primary where every voter must be affiliated with a party in order to participate in its primary. However, a voter can change his or her political party affiliation on the day of the primary.^[1]^[2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

The following offices were elected in 2014 in Iowa:

In addition to candidate lists and election results, this page includes information about important dates, how the state's executive branch is organized, as well as links to articles about recent news in races across the state.

Partisan breakdown

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held five of the seven state executive seats up for election in 2014 in Iowa.

Iowa State Executives -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 4, 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Republican Party	5	5
	Democratic Party	2	2
Total		7	7

Candidates by office

	2015 → ← 2013
	2014; State Executive Official Elections
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Table of Contents
	Partisan breakdown ; Candidates by office ; Voter turnout ; Key deadlines ; State executive organization ; Ballotpedia reports ; Recent news ; See also
See also
	News • Calendar

Office	Incumbent	Assumed Office	Incumbent running?	General Election Candidates	2015 Winner	Partisan Switch?
Governor	Terry E. Branstad	2011	Yes^[3]^[4]	Terry Branstad Jack Hatch Lee Hieb Jonathan Narcisse Jim Hennager	Terry Branstad	No
Lieutenant Governor	Kim Reynolds	2011	Yes^[5]	Kim Reynolds Monica Vernon Tim Watson Michael Richards Mary Krieg	Kim Reynolds	No
Secretary of State	Matt Schultz	2011	No	Paul Pate Brad Anderson Jake Porter Spencer Highland	Paul Pate	No
Attorney General	Tom Miller	1979	Yes^[6]	Adam Gregg Tom Miller	Tom Miller	No
Treasurer of State	Michael Fitzgerald	1982	Yes^[7]	Sam Clovis Michael Fitzgerald Keith Laube	Michael Fitzgerald	No
Auditor of State	Mary Mosiman	2013	Yes^[8]	Mary Mosiman Jon Neiderbach	Mary Mosiman	No
Secretary of Agriculture	Bill Northey	2007	Yes^[9]	Bill Northey Sherrie Taha Levi Benning	Bill Northey	No

Primary results

Governor

Governor of Iowa, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Terry Branstad Incumbent	83%	129,752
Tom Hoefling	16.8%	26,299
Write-in	0.2%	294
Total Votes		156,345
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State.

Lieutenant Governor

Uncontested

Attorney General

Uncontested

Secretary of State

Uncontested

Treasurer

Uncontested

Iowa Auditor

Uncontested

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

Uncontested

General election results

The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Terry Branstad/Kim Reynolds Incumbent	59%	666,023
	Democratic	Jack Hatch/Monica Vernon	37.3%	420,778
	Libertarian	Lee Hieb/Tim Watson	1.8%	20,319
	New Independent Party	Jim Hennager/Mary Krieg	0.9%	10,582
	Iowa Party	Jonathan Narcisse/Michael Richards	0.9%	10,239
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	1,093
Total Votes				1,129,034
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Attorney General

Attorney General of Iowa, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tom Miller Incumbent	56.1%	616,711
	Republican	Adam Gregg	43.8%	481,046
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	1,249
Total Votes				1,099,006
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Secretary of State

Secretary of State of Iowa, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul Pate	48.5%	529,275
	Democratic	Brad Anderson	46.6%	509,202
	Libertarian	Jake Porter	3%	32,889
	New Independent Party	Spencer Highland	1.8%	19,945
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	769
Total Votes				1,092,080
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Treasurer

Iowa Treasurer, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michael Fitzgerald Incumbent	52.9%	576,942
	Republican	Sam Clovis	43.7%	476,633
	Libertarian	Keith Laube	3.4%	36,945
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	670
Total Votes				1,091,190
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Iowa Auditor

Iowa Auditor, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Mosiman Incumbent	56.9%	604,103
	Democratic	Jon Neiderbach	43%	456,525
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	1,477
Total Votes				1,062,105
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

Agriculture Commissioner of Iowa, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bill Northey Incumbent	62.2%	675,781
	Democratic	Sherrie Taha	34.1%	370,209
	New Independent Party	Levi Benning	3.6%	39,349
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	891
Total Votes				1,086,230
Election results via Iowa Secretary of State

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.^[10] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.^[11]

Quick facts

According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.^[12]

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.

The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).

Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.

Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.^[13]

Voter turnout rates, 2014
State	Total votes counted	% voter eligible population	Top statewide office up for election	Size of lead (Raw votes)	Size of lead (%)
Alabama	1,191,274	33.2	Governor	320,319	27.2
Alaska	285,431	54.4	Governor	4,004	1.6
Arizona	1,537,671	34.1	Governor	143,951	12.5
Arkansas	852,642	40.1	Governor	118,664	14.0
California	7,513,972	30.8	Governor	1,065,748	17.8
Colorado	2,080,071	54.5	Governor	50,395	2.4
Connecticut	1,096,509	42.5	Governor	26,603	2.5
Delaware	234,038	34.4	Attorney General	31,155	13.6
District of Columbia	177,176	35.8	Mayor	27,934	19.0
Florida	6,026,802	43.3	Governor	66,127	1.1
Georgia	2,596,947	38.5	Governor	202,685	8.0
Hawaii	369,554	36.5	Governor	45,323	12.4
Idaho	445,307	39.6	Governor	65,852	14.9
Illinois	3,680,417	40.9	Governor	171,900	4.9
Indiana	1,387,622	28.8	Secretary of State	234,978	17.8
Iowa	1,142,284	50.2	Governor	245,548	21.8
Kansas	887,023	43.4	Governor	33,052	3.9
Kentucky	1,435,868	44.0	U.S. Senate	222,096	15.5
Louisiana	1,472,039	43.8	U.S. Senate	16,401	1.1
Maine	616,996	58.5	Governor	29,820	4.9
Maryland	1,733,177	41.5	Governor	88,648	6.1
Massachusetts	2,186,789	44.6	Governor	40,361	1.9
Michigan	3,188,956	43.2	Governor	129,547	4.3
Minnesota	1,992,613	50.5	Governor	109,776	5.6
Mississippi	631,858	28.9	U.S. Senate	141,234	33.0
Missouri	1,426,303	31.8	Auditor	684,074	53.6
Montana	373,831	47.3	U.S. Senate	65,262	17.9
Nebraska	552,115	41.5	Governor	97,678	18.7
Nevada	547,349	29.0	Governor	255,793	46.7
New Hampshire	495,565	48.4	Governor	24,924	5.2
New Jersey	1,955,042	32.5	N/A	N/A	N/A
New Mexico	512,805	35.7	Governor	73,868	14.6
New York	3,930,310	29.0	Governor	476,252	13.4
North Carolina	2,939,767	41.2	U.S. Senate	48,511	1.7
North Dakota	255,128	45.0	U.S. House At-large seat	42,214	17.1
Ohio	3,149,876	36.2	Governor	933,235	30.9
Oklahoma	824,831	29.8	Governor	122,060	14.7
Oregon	1,541,782	53.5	Governor	59,029	4.5
Pennsylvania	3,495,866	36.0	Governor	339,261	9.8
Rhode Island	329,212	42.2	Governor	14,346	4.5
South Carolina	1,261,611	35.2	Governor	179,089	14.6
South Dakota	282,291	44.9	Governor	124,865	45.1
Tennessee	1,374,065	28.6	Governor	642,214	47.5
Texas	4,727,208	28.3	Governor	957,973	20.4
Utah	577,973	30.2	Attorney General	173,819	35.2
Vermont	193,087	38.8	Governor	2,095	1.1
Virginia	2,194,346	36.6	U.S. Senate	16,727	0.8
Washington	2,123,901	43.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
West Virginia	451,498	31.2	U.S. Senate	124,667	27.6
Wisconsin	2,410,314	56.5	Governor	137,607	5.7
Wyoming	168,390	39.3	Governor	52,703	33.6

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
March 14, 2014	Filing deadline (Major party candidates)
June 3, 2014	Primary election
August 15, 2014	Filing deadline (other candidates)
November 4, 2014	General election
December 1, 2014	State Canvass of general election votes deadline
January 1, 2015	Inauguration day for attorney general, secretary of state, auditor and treasurer
January 13, 2015	Inauguration day for governor and lieutenant governor

State executive organization

Executive officials in Iowa are part of a three-pronged government structure that includes state legislators and state judges. The following chart details the relationship among different branches of Iowa's state government:

Ballotpedia reports

To learn more about developments in these races, check out the following news articles from Ballotpedia:

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Iowa + State + Executive +-Obama + Elections"

Iowa state executive elections, 2014 News Feed

Footnotes

[1] Iowa Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration FAQ," accessed October 20, 2025

[ialaw-2] Iowa General Assembly, "Iowa Code § 43.42," accessed October 20, 2025

[running14-3] The DesMoines Register, "It’s official: Terry Branstad will run for sixth term as Iowa governor," January 15, 2014

[reelec14-4] Branstad and Reynolds 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed November 7, 2013

[running-5] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named running

[6] The Gazette, "Iowa Attorney General Miller ‘off and running’ for ninth term - See more at: http://thegazette.com/2013/11/13/iowa-attorney-general-miller-off-and-running-for-ninth-term/#sthash.AGYbG6Jo.dpuf," November 13, 2013

[7] Iowa Secretary of State, "Final Candidate Listing by Office 2014," March 15, 2014

[marymo-8] KCRG.com, "Mosiman Named New Iowa State Auditor; First Female To Hold Post," May 13, 2013

[9] Iowa Farmer Today, "Northey plans to run again for Iowa secretary of agriculture," July 19, 2013

[10] United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014

[11] TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014

[12] PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014

[13] U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014

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Iowa state executive official elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown

Candidates by office

Primary results

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General

Secretary of State

Treasurer

Iowa Auditor

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

General election results

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General

Secretary of State

Treasurer

Iowa Auditor

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

Voter turnout

Key deadlines

State executive organization

Ballotpedia reports

Recent news

See also

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

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