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Iowa Democrats starving for a governor of their own have, at least at this infant stage of the process, a buffet of options from which to choose.

There is much at stake for Democrats in 2018: They are trying to win back the governors office for the first time since 2010, and will not have to defeat Terry Branstad in order to do so. The election also presents the first opportunity to break up Republicans complete control of the state Capitol, and their first chance to bounce back after devastating elections in 2014 and 2016.

Given all thats at stake, perhaps it should come as little surprise a long list of Democrats are interested in running for governor in 2018. Were into the double digits now, counting people who are officially running, have indicated they are thinking about running or have not ruled out running.

Perhaps the best news for Democrats is the expansive early field provides a wide array of political and professional backgrounds. This early group is not the least bit monolithic.

There are plenty of candidates with the traditional political pedigree: state legislators like Todd Prichard, Nate Boulton and Chris Hall, former state party leaders in Andy McGuire and John Norris.

But there are also local officials like Mike Carberry, a Johnson County supervisor; Mike Matson, a Davenport alderman; Rich Leopold, a Polk County conservation officer; and Jonathan Neiderbach, a former Des Moines school board president.

The candidates have varied geographical backgrounds as well. Boulton, Leopold and Neiderbach are from central Iowa, Hall is from western Iowa, and Matson and McGuire are eastern Iowa natives. Prichard and Norris are from small, rural towns. Norris is from the same small town as Joni Ernst, the Republican who in 2014 turned Iowas blue U.S. Senate seat red.

Thats a fairly wide array of candidates and experiences from which Iowa Democrats may choose, and our quick analysis here only scratches the surface of their qualifications. Obviously, its highly unlikely all of them will be on the ballot for the primary election in June 2018, but the long and varied list gives Democrats a chance to really think about the kind of candidate they want to run in November of 2018.

For Democrats, the choice is critical. While it technically will be an open-seat race after Branstad leaves to become U.S. ambassador to China, it is possible Democrats will be facing a de facto incumbent in Kim Reynolds, who is poised to serve as governor once Branstad leaves.

Reynolds could face a primary challenge Cedar Rapids mayor Ron Corbett is considering a run but if she is the GOPs nominee she will enter the general election with a running start having served in the office for roughly a year and a half, and she has already proven herself to be a strong fundraiser.

So it wont be the Herculean task of taking down Branstad something the governor is fond of noting has never happened during his political career but it wont be a typical empty-seat election for Democrats, either.

And that makes their primary decision so important.

The good news, for Democrats, is they have plenty of options.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and state government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net.

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Many flavors to choose from for Iowa Democrats - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier