Obama made gains in Iowa GOP strongholds
By Ed Tibbetts Lee Enterprises | Posted: Thursday, November 06, 2008
Barack Obama's sweeping victory Tuesday transformed Iowa's presidential map, spreading blue ink from Democratic strongholds in eastern Iowa to central and western counties President Bush claimed four years ago.
Obama won Iowa's seven electoral votes with 816,495 votes, or 54 percent, according to unofficial results. John McCain got 676,001 votes, or 45 percent.
Obama's 141,000-vote victory is a remarkable turnaround from the past two election cycles when the winners were chosen by a combined 14,000 votes.
A total of 1.5 million Iowans turned out Tuesday.
Obama's win, while by a smaller margin than what had turned up in pre-election opinion polls, was impressive for the breadth of his popularity in even some traditionally Republican areas.
Obama won six counties in the western Iowa 5th Congressional District. The Democratic areas of eastern Iowa were uniformly behind him, too, often in large numbers. Overall, he won 53 counties Tuesday, 22 counties more than Kerry did four years ago.
Even in the areas he lost in western and southern Iowa, Obama shaved the margins Bush built up beating John Kerry in 2004.
"I was surprised that Barack ran as strong as he did in the central and western part of the state," said Dave Nagle, former chair of the state Democratic Party. As he did in the caucuses, Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, ran up impressive margins in most of the state's urban centers. He won 56 percent of the vote in Polk and Dubuque counties and 60 percent in the counties surrounding Cedar Rapids and Mason City. In Johnson County, he won 70 percent of the vote.
Obama's wins in such counties as Carroll and Crawford in west central Iowa are especially notable. Four years ago, Bush won the counties with 55 percent of the vote in each. This time, they swung Democratic. He also narrowed the margin in Dallas County, in the suburban Des Moines metro area.
Meanwhile, exit polls said the economy was the big issue in Iowa. Six in 10 Iowa voters said the economy was the most important issue to them, and Obama beat McCain with these voters. Many Iowans, especially those living on their investments, have watched retirement accounts dwindle in recent weeks.
Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.
Obama won Iowa's seven electoral votes with 816,495 votes, or 54 percent, according to unofficial results. John McCain got 676,001 votes, or 45 percent.
Obama's 141,000-vote victory is a remarkable turnaround from the past two election cycles when the winners were chosen by a combined 14,000 votes.
A total of 1.5 million Iowans turned out Tuesday.
Obama's win, while by a smaller margin than what had turned up in pre-election opinion polls, was impressive for the breadth of his popularity in even some traditionally Republican areas.
Obama won six counties in the western Iowa 5th Congressional District. The Democratic areas of eastern Iowa were uniformly behind him, too, often in large numbers. Overall, he won 53 counties Tuesday, 22 counties more than Kerry did four years ago.
Even in the areas he lost in western and southern Iowa, Obama shaved the margins Bush built up beating John Kerry in 2004.
"I was surprised that Barack ran as strong as he did in the central and western part of the state," said Dave Nagle, former chair of the state Democratic Party. As he did in the caucuses, Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, ran up impressive margins in most of the state's urban centers. He won 56 percent of the vote in Polk and Dubuque counties and 60 percent in the counties surrounding Cedar Rapids and Mason City. In Johnson County, he won 70 percent of the vote.
Obama's wins in such counties as Carroll and Crawford in west central Iowa are especially notable. Four years ago, Bush won the counties with 55 percent of the vote in each. This time, they swung Democratic. He also narrowed the margin in Dallas County, in the suburban Des Moines metro area.
Meanwhile, exit polls said the economy was the big issue in Iowa. Six in 10 Iowa voters said the economy was the most important issue to them, and Obama beat McCain with these voters. Many Iowans, especially those living on their investments, have watched retirement accounts dwindle in recent weeks.
Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.
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