2010 Iowa gubernatorial election

The 2010 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor, to serve a four-year term beginning on January 14, 2011. In Iowa, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket. Along with the election in Ohio, this was one of the two gubernatorial elections where the incumbent lost re-election.
The two major party candidates were first-term incumbent Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, who ran for re-election with first-term incumbent lieutenant governor Patty Judge, and former four-term Governor Terry Branstad, who won a three-way primary for the Republican nomination and ran with State Senator Kim Reynolds.
Branstad defeated Culver in the general election, becoming the first challenger to unseat an incumbent Iowa governor since Harold Hughes in 1962.

Democratic primary

As listed by the Iowa Secretary of State's office:

State Senator Paul McKinley withdrew after Terry Branstad formed an exploratory committee
Cedar Rapids businessman Christian Fong suspended his campaign due to a lack of campaign finances
Minority Leader of the Iowa House of Representatives Christopher Rants withdrew from the race due to lack of campaign funds
State Senator Jerry Behn withdrew from the race and endorsed Terry Branstad

Chet Culver, incumbent governor; running with incumbent lieutenant governor Patty Judge.
Gregory James Hughes, running with Robin Prior-Calef.
Terry Branstad, former four-term governor; running with State Senator Kim Reynolds.
Eric Cooper, professor at Iowa State University; running with judicial administrator Nick Weltha.
Jonathan Narcisse, former member of the Des Moines school board; running with truck driver Rick Marlar. Narcisse is a Democrat and Marlar is a Republican. Narcisse's campaign and that of Senate District 45 candidate Douglas William Phillips were not affiliated, though both appeared on the ballot under the "Iowa Party" name.
David Rosenfeld, running with Helen Meyers.

Branstad won four of five congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.