1986Final results
1986 election for Iowa Governor
Governor · Iowa
Terry E. Branstad (R) won with 52.0% of the vote, defeating Lowell L. Junkins (D) by 3.9 points.
Terry E. BranstadRepublican · winner
52.0%472,712
Lowell L. JunkinsDemocrat
48.0%436,987
909,699 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1986
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET