Free Republic

HI-larious. Sen. Ted Cruz, responding to a barrage of attacks from a sitting GOP governor and businessman Donald Trump, Wednesday said his campaign raised $700,000 in the hours after he was pointedly criticized by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. Mr. Cruz, speaking to reporters in New Hampshire, said party leaders in Washington are so fearful of his candidacy that he believes they are rallying behind Mr. Trump rather than Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida – a rival of Mr. Cruz’s who has been considered an establishment favorite. With enemies like those, who needs friends, right? Cruz continues to have plenty of...

Altoona, Iowa (CNN)—Iowa's Republican Gov. Terry Branstad called for Ted Cruz's defeat Tuesday, in a dramatic and highly public repudiation of the Texas senator just two weeks out from the Iowa caucuses. Speaking to a small group of reporters at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, where several 2016 presidential candidates are slated to speak, Branstad labeled Cruz a "big oil" candidate whose victory would be "very damaging to our state." "It would be a big mistake for Iowa to support him," Branstad said. "And I know he's ahead in the polls but the only poll that counts is...

Governor Terry Branstad and his wife Chris have moved out of the Iowa governor's mansion in Des Moines after black mold was found in their third-floor residence, a spokeswoman said. Chris Branstad had not been feeling well for a few weeks and suggested her sickness might be caused by something at Terrace Hill, the state-owned mansion that has been home to Iowa governors since 1976. Tests were done on the mansion and confirmed black mold on the third floor, which was converted into living quarters for the state's governor and family. "The governor and first lady are fine," Spokeswoman Jenae...

Hy-Vee Inc., after being pressured by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, announced Wednesday that its stores would continue to offer ground beef containing a controversial ground beef additive. Producers call it "lean, finely textured beef," but it has become widely known as "pink slime." Hy-Vee's announcement, revealed during a Wednesday afternoon press conference in Des Moines with Branstad and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, marks a quick reversal of the Iowa-based chain's stance last week to join several other grocery chains and drop products containing the additive. "The governor called and expressed his concern," Ruth Comer, a Hy-Vee spokeswoman said in...

Smack dab in the middle of the country, surrounded by harvested corn and bean fields, cities in Iowa are experiencing their version of Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Iowa came to Des Moines and promptly found that Gov. Branstad was willing to be fair, but not be taken advantage of.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An influential evangelical Christian group says it's standing by a pledge to sit out the governor's race this fall because neither of the major party candidates share its view on social issues. The decision by the Iowa Family Policy Center is a blow to Republican Terry Branstad, who is relying on religious conservatives to be among the base of his support as he faces Democratic Gov. Chet Culver. Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center, has criticized Branstad for not giving greater emphasis to issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Carroll says...