--- title: Terry Branstad To Appear at Chris Christie Final Iowa Rally description: Not an endorsement, but an important signal canonical: https://time.com/4201186/terry-branstad-chris-christie-iowa-governor/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-30T17:49:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:36:06.429Z article:section: Politics og:title: Terry Branstad To Appear at Chris Christie Final Iowa Rally og:description: Not an endorsement, but an important signal og:url: https://time.com/4201186/terry-branstad-chris-christie-iowa-governor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte68bc21e236e699f/69887b353c1639372d45bc8c/timepol-chris-christie-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Terry Branstad To Appear at Chris Christie Final Iowa Rally twitter:description: Not an endorsement, but an important signal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte68bc21e236e699f/69887b353c1639372d45bc8c/timepol-chris-christie-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iowa Governor Terry Branstad To Appear With Chris Christie At Final Rally by [Zeke J Miller / Cedar Rapids, Iowa](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jan 30, 2016 5:49 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Jan. 25, 2016. Republican presidential candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Jan. 25, 2016.Matt Rourke—AP by [Zeke J Miller / Cedar Rapids, Iowa](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jan 30, 2016 5:49 PM UTC Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will appear with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at his final rally before the Iowa Caucuses Sunday night in West Des Moines, the campaign said, providing a final boost to Christie before the first ballots are cast. The appearance, in which Branstad introduce Christie, is not an official endorsement, according to Christie’s campaign. But it is expected to nonetheless signal Branstad’s preference in the race, much like Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s appearance with Sen. Marco Rubio last week gave a signal to her supporters. The ties between Christie and Branstad run deep. Christie’s Iowa campaign is filled with veterans of Branstad’s 2010 and 2014 Iowa races, and Christie deployed the resources of the Republican Governors Association to help Branstad in his re-election. Christie also stumped for Branstad in Iowa and attended several fundraisers during both campaigns. **Read More:** [_Meet the First-Time Voters Who Are Changing the Election_](http://time.com/4196622/trump-sanders-voters/) Christie frequently touts his ties to Branstad on the campaign trial. “Team Branstad is with Team Christie and that’s a good thing,” he said at an event Friday. Branstad has long said he would not formally endorse in the race, preferring to welcome all candidates to the state, but earlier this month he came out against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s candidacy. Late last year, Christie [shifted his campaign focus](http://time.com/4165593/chris-christie-iowa-governor/) to Iowa, seeing an opportunity to beat Jeb Bush in the state, saying his expectation is to place first among governors in the state, hoping it will provide him a boost of momentum going into New Hampshire. Christie, the former chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is betting on governors like Branstad, and their political networks, to provide him a boost nationwide in states where he lacks larger organizations. 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