Iowa Politico: Chicago Cubs Better Odds to Win World Series Than Democrat in 2014 Governors Race

By B.A. Morelli

How's this for confidence? 

A longtime Republican insider compares the likelihood that the lowly Chicago Cubs will win the World Series to the chances of a Democrat beating Iowa's incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad in 2014.

Doug Gross, a Des Moines lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, says the Cubs are a better pick. 

“It will be easier for the Cubs to win the World Series than for a Democrat to beat Branstad,” Gross told The Des Moines Register. “That being said, I expect him to run like he is 20 points behind.”

If you are wondering, the Cubs' odds of a World Series win are 500 to 1, which are tied for the third worst odds in Major League Baseball. 

Iowa's longest serving governor hasn't formally announced his intentions to run again, but the Des Moines Register said signs are pointing to an announcement very soon. 

Gross said he believes Branstad will run, and that he will win. 

A recent Iowa Poll had Branstad with a 54 percent approval rating, the highest since he returned to the governorship in 2011. 

The Register identified State Sen. Jack Hatch, longtime transportation policy advisor Bob Krause and to a lesser extent for Iowa Democratic Party chairman Tyler Olson as possible Democratic candidates.