Unless you’re a political junkie, you probably missed the Washington Post story a couple weeks ago about Gov. Terry Branstad saying he is unlikely to run for another term. 

The story got little play because Branstad immediately retracted what he’d told Post reporter Robert Costas. The governor’s denial allowed Iowa reporters to ignore the story, which is what they wanted to do anyway because who wants to admit being beat on such a big local story.

Here’s what the Post said: 

“Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa) said in an interview Monday he is unlikely to run for a seventh term in 2018 and is already preparing to support his deputy, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, in the Republican gubernatorial primary.”

“While not formally ruling out another bid, Branstad said he ‘wouldn’t bet’ on another statewide campaign.”  

The article mentioned Branstad’s recent hospitalization and the fact that he had heart surgeries in 2000 and 2010 to open partially blocked arteries. 

It continued: “Reynolds, 55, has been an energetic presence in Iowa politics in recent years and friendly with the state’s business establishment and conservative leaders. She is also close – personally and politically – to Sen. Joni Ernst (R), who was elected to the U.S. Senate last year. Both previously represented the same state Senate district.”

“If Branstad serves through the end of this year,” the article said, “he will become the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, eclipsing George Clinton, who served 21 years as governor of New York during and after the Revolutionary War.” 

Branstad told the Post: “I need to serve through December 14 or 15 of this year to break his record, so I’m on the way already, I just have to continue to serve one year into this term.”  

I’ve covered Branstad off and on since he ran for lieutenant governor in 1978, and to me the Post article has the ring of truth. 

One major reason Branstad returned to politics in 2010, after spending 12 years in the private sector, was because he knew that his place in history was always going to be behind his predecessor, Robert Ray, even though Branstad had served 16 years as governor, two more than Ray. 

Serving out his current term will give Branstad 24 years as governor and move him out of Ray’s shadow. It would mean that in the future his name is as likely to be associated with New York’s Revolutionary War governor as with Ray.  

When Branstad completes his current term in 2018, he will be 72, and given the pressures of office, his health will likely be worse than it is today. 

So, Branstad’s real problem is that he let the cat out of the bag too soon. Saying he won’t run again makes him a lame duck and forfeits much of the power that goes with his office. 

It also places the political focus on who will succeed him. If he announces his retirement now, who knows how many Republican challengers Reynolds will have by 2018. 

What he told the Post was a dumb thing to say at this point in his term, and either he figured that out or somebody with more political sense did and told him. 

Besides, if he let the Washington Post story stand unchallenged, the Iowa press would likely turn on him. They’d feel betrayed and look for ways to discredit him from now until January 2019, or whenever he leaves office. That’s the way political journalism works. 

Branstad’s quick retraction of the Post story was the only logical thing to do. 

Now, he has to keep up the appearance of wanting to run again until sometime closer to the end of this term, when he can hand deliver his retirement story to a favorite reporter.