text: The Des Moines Tea Party gave Branstad a "no" on their report card regarding "criteria for acceptance" and said Branstad had "a history of raising taxes, [was] not a true conservative, increased the size of government every year he held office, [and] built a state-owned phone company." Former Iowa State Auditor Richard Johnson accused Branstad of keeping "two sets of books" on the state budget while governor. Johnson said Branstad needed to be "transparent" to Iowa voters about the reporting of Iowa's finances during his tenure as governor.
  2014 gubernatorial election
  Branstad ran for reelection in 2014. He was opposed in the Republican primary by Tom Hoefling, a political activist and nominee for president in 2012 for both America's Party and American Independent Party. Branstad won the primary with 83% of the vote.
  In the general election, Branstad faced Democratic nominee State Senator Jack Hatch and won with 59% of the vote.
  Voting rights
  Branstad rescinded an executive order by signed by governor Tom Vilsack that restored voting rights to approximately 115,000 felons who had completed their sentences. Iowa was the last remaining state to have felons permanently disenfranchised until 2020, when Branstad's successor, Kim Reynolds, restored voting rights for some felons who had completed their sentences.