Abstract
In this chapter, I contextualize the 2016 presidential election in Iowa, including a description of the election results statewide. Focusing on the literature written about Iowa politics, this chapter introduces the reader to the roots of competitive elections, which leads to the state being identified as a swing state. This chapter also focuses on the significant shift in candidate preference between Barack Obama’s statewide victories in 2008 and 2012, and Donald Trump’s statewide victory in 2016. It concludes with an outline for the remainder of the book, accompanied by a description of the remaining chapters.
I met the President for the first time … April 8th, 2015, and I knew at that meeting that he was going to be president. He has “it.” My Dad has “it.” President Reagan had “it.” President Clinton had “it.” It’s just one of those things where they have a natural ability to really connect with people.
—Eric Branstad, Iowa State Political Director
for Donald J. Trump for President
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Notes
- 1.
Although ultimately all 30 delegates from Iowa to the RNC voted for Donald Trump. See Rosenthal (2016).
- 2.
Western Iowa is defined as counties west of Interstate 35 not including the five counties in the Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area (Dallas, Guthrie, Madison, Polk, and Warren). The remaining counties to the east of Interstate 35 are defined as Eastern Iowa.
- 3.
All voter registration data presented here focuses on voters classified by the Iowa Secretary of State’s office as “Active” voters. “Inactive” voters were excluded.
- 4.
2016 exit polls revealed that 43% of Iowa voters believed that “can bring change” was the most important candidate quality (Exit Polls 2016).
- 5.
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Green, A.D. (2020). The 2016 Election in Iowa: An Introduction. In: From the Iowa Caucuses to the White House. Palgrave Studies in US Elections. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22499-8_1
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