Branstad mulls comeback in Iowa

Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is mulling a political comeback, telling the Des Moines Register he may run again for governor.

“I’m not ruling it out, because I care deeply about the state,” Branstad told the paper. “And I have real concerns about the direction things are going.”

The 62-year-old Republican served four consecutive terms as the governor of the Hawkeye state, and has served as president of Des Moines University since 2003.

“I’m interested in what needs to be done to turn the state around, turn the economy around and get the state’s budget under control, restore fiscal responsibility and get the focus on economic development and those things to get the state to grow and prosper in the future,” he said.

Branstad would face incumbent Gov. Chet Culver (D), who Republicans have hoped they might knock off in the 2010 gubernatorial elections.