Powerful Voters
Here’s another survey, for what it’s worth…and to some degree, it simply reinforces what we already suspect.
Iowa voters are the second most powerful in the nation in presidential elections. That’s according to the personal-finance website Wallet Hub. The group compared the relative clout of 2020 voters in swinging the presidency and U.S. Senate. They calculated a Voter Power Score for each state and each type of election.
Iowa’s vote power score was 207.13…only one other state topped 200 in the ranking. That puts us ahed of larger states such as Ohio, Texas, and Florida. It’s largely because of our first-in-the-nation caucuses, of course…which are instrumental in determining who gets the nomination, but also because Iowa is a pretty purple state of late, and has therefore been of interest in the general election campaign. By comparison, California is the least influential…since it’s so blue, its electoral votes are expected to go a certain way.
Our 2020 Senate election ranking is high, as well…#4 on the survey of most powerful voters…that’s because of a toss-up race…similarly, Montana and Maine rank just ahead of Iowa, because of the volatility of their respective U.S. Senate races, as well.
I have a hard time believing anyone who is listening to this segment isn’t already sold on how important their vote is this election year…but compared with other states, ours here is apparently among the most powerful voices to be heard. Good incentive to be smart, do homework, and act.
