Surprise Open Governor's Seat In Iowa Signals Competitive Gop Primary, Glimmer Of Hope For Democrats

Iowa looked a lot different in 2010, when Kim Reynolds was first elected to statewide office.

Reynolds was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor on the ticket alongside former Gov. Terry Branstad. Barack Obama was president, supported by a majority of Iowa voters who had helped send the Illinois Democrat to the White House just two years earlier.

Iowa's federal delegation was split politically. Democrats held majorities in the Iowa House and Senate.

And Donald Trump hosted "The Apprentice."

Reynolds' surprise announcement last week that she would not seek a third term as governor after nearly a decade in the office set Des Moines abuzz with who might jump in to a newly wide open primary race, the first for Iowa Republicans since 2010.