Republican incumbent Terry Branstad ran for reelection to a sixth overall and second consecutive four-year term.

[1] Branstad went on to win a historic sixth term as governor by defeating Democratic challenger and State Senator Jack Hatch, and on December 14, 2015, he became the longest-serving governor in American history.

Narcisse was disqualified from appearing on the ballot in the Democratic primary following a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court[8] that upheld a lower court decision that held that Narcisse had not submitted enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot for the primary election.

Narcisse continued his campaign and declared his intention to run for the nomination as a write-in candidate.

[9] When he was unsuccessful, he announced that he would be running in the general election as the nominee of the Iowa Party.