Statewide Iowa — An Iowa State University study explores the changing attitudes of Iowa voters in recent presidential elections.
Ann Oberhauser, an ISU professor of sociology and director of Women’s and Gender Studies, says there was a big shift between the majority of Iowa voters picking Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 to backing Republican Donald Trump in 2016.
The study found white, rural voters without a college education were more likely to switch from voting Democrat to Republican. There were some researchers who suggested economic factors may have played a larger role in the decision, but she says that does not appear to have been the case. Oberhauser says it will be interesting to see how Iowans vote in 2020 with the Caucuses and the general election.
The study found Iowa had more counties flip from Democrat to Republican than any other state in the last presidential election. Oberhauser says it’s curious when so many rural, predominantly white counties that supported Obama for two straight election cycles made a dramatic shift to get behind Trump.
The study is being published in The Sociological Quarterly.
