IOWA 7 Electoral Votes
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Iowa Secretary of State)
Total Population, July 1, 2004 est. 2,954,451
Total Registration, Nov. 2004 1,971,735 
Rep. 609,046 (30.89%)   Dem. 601,388 (30.50%)   No-Party 761,301 (38.61%) >
Iowa has: 99 counties, 949 cities.
Five largest counties: Polk, Linn, Scott, Black Hawk, Johnson.
Five largest cities: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo.

Government
Governor: Tom Vilsack (D) elected in 1998, re-elected in 2002.
State Legislature: General Assembly  House: 100 seats  Senate: 50 seats
Local: Cities, Counties NACO Counties
U.S. House: 4R,1D - 1. J.Nussle (R) | 2. J.Leach (R) | 3. L.Boswell (D) | 4. T.Latham (R) | 5. Steve King (R). >>
U.S. Senate: Tom Harkin (D) re-elected in 2002, Chuck Grassley (R) re-elected in 2004.
Although Democrats made a substantial effort in several U.S. House races here in 2002 and although Sen. Grassley was up for re-election, Iowa Democrats' major focus in 2004 was on the General Assembly.  Republicans held majorities in both houses -- 54R to 46D in the House and 29R to 21D in the Senate.  In both chambers a flip of five seats was needed give Democrats a majority.  They didn't quite make it, but did pare the Republican majority to 49-51 in the House and achieved a 25-25 tie in the Senate.  Grassley was re-elected with over 70 percent of the vote.

The Hawkeye State
 

 State of Iowa
Secretary of State

IA Democratic Party
IA Green Party
Libertarian Party of IA
Natural Law Party of IA
Reform Party of IA
Republican Party of IA
Constitution Party of IA

Des Moines Register
FYIowa
Media (Newsp.)
Media (TV)

Politics1-IA

 

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Early voting begins and absentee ballots mailed starting: September 23, 2004.
Voter registration deadline: October 23, 2004  >
Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)
741,898
(49.23)
+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
751,957
(49.90)
Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 1,304 (0.09)
Cobb/LaMarche (IAGrn.) 1,141
(0.08)
Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.)
2,992
(0.20)
Harris/Trowe (SWP)
373
(0.02)
Nader/Camejo (Petition)
5,973
(0.40)
Write-In
1,904
(0.13)
Total........1,506,908
 
2004 Overview
Iowans saw much of Sen. Kerry during the caucuses campaign.  Kerry later gave close consideration to Gov. Tom Vilsack as a potential running mate.  In the closing weeks of the campaign the candidates and surrogates made frequent visits.  When the votes were counted, Iowa had flipped Republican; Bush-Cheney narrowly won with a plurality of 10,059 votes (0.67 percentage points).  Bush carried 67 counties to Kerry's 32.  191,345 more votes were cast in the presidential race than in 2000.
General Election Details  |  Photos
Kerry/Allies  |  Bush-Cheney '04
[State Primary June 8, 2004]
 
Past Results
1996
Clinton (Dem.).......620,258
(50.26)
Dole (Rep.)............492,644
(39.92)
Perot (Ref.)............105,159
(8.52)
Others (5+w/ins).....16,014
(1.30)
Total........1,234,075

1992
Clinton (Dem.)........586,353
(43.28)
Bush (Rep.)...........504,891
(37.27)
Perot (Ind.) ...........253,468
(18.71)
Others(11+w/ins).......9,895
(0.73) 
Total........1,354,607

2000
+Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
638,517
 (48.54)
Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
634,373
(48.22)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
3,209
(0.24)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)
29,374
(2.23)
Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
5,731
(0.44)
Harris/Trowe (SWP)
190
 (0.01)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
  613
(0.05)
McReynolds/Hollis (Soc.)
107
(0.01)
Hagelin/Goldhaber (pet.)
2,281
(0.17)
Scattering
1,168
(0.09)
Total........1,315,563

Turnout as a percentage of voting age population was 60.77%.  (U.S. avg. 53.76%)...l

2000 Overview
The Gore-Lieberman ticket eked out a narrow win, finishing with a plurality of just 4,144 votes (0.32 percentage points).  Bush carried 68 counties to Gore's 31.  Typically in Iowa Democratic candidates do well East of I-35, the main North-South highway, and Republicans do well in the West.  This held true in 2000 as Bush swept all counties in the Western-most quarter of the state, while Gore did well in counties along the Mississippi River in the East, as well as in the Des Moines-Fort Dodge and Mason City areas. 
General Election Activity

Precinct Caucuses -- Monday, January 19, 2004
Main Iowa Caucuses Page
Precinct Caucus Results
Monday, January 19, 2004
The January 19, 2004 precinct caucuses are the first determining step in the selection of  29 District level delegates and 5 alternates.  The threshhold for viable groups in a precinct caucus is 15 percent.

Saturday, March 13, 2004 - County Conventions

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - District Conventions

Saturday, June 26, 2004 -
State Convention
 

Delegates elected to County Conventions
Total Delegates
Percent
Wesley K. Clark
15
0.11%
Howard Dean
2,342
17.36%
John Edwards
4,393
32.57%
Dick Gephardt
1,507
11.17%
John F. Kerry
5,002
37.09%
Dennis J. Kucinich
139
1.03%
Uncommitted
24
0.18%
Other
65
0.48%
Total
13,487

124,331 people participated.

Registered Democrats (active) as of Jan. 1, 2004:  533,107.

 56 Delegates (Pledged 45, Unpledged 11) and 8 Alternates.
 

IDP Delegate Selection Plan.

Republican - Precinct Caucuses: Monday, January 19, 2004; County Conventions: Saturday, March 6, 2004; CD Caucuses (stat.): Saturday, April 24, 2004; CD Pres. Caucuses: Friday, June 11, 2004; State Convention: Saturday, June 12, 2004. 32 Delegates and 29 Alternates.
 
 

2000 page >>

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