The Numbers Shift
In the wake of yesterday being National Voter Registration Day, it seems appropriate to look at the most current voter registration totals in Iowa. And there has been a shift once again.
Counting all registered voters—both active voters, and those who are registered but have not voted in the past four years—Iowa has 2.22 million registered voters…that’s out of a total population of 3.20 million. And the active voter category—again, those who have voted at least one time in the past four years—shows 1.57 million. So roughly, two thirds of Iowa’s adult population votes. Pretty good number, compared with the rest of the country.
Of that 2.22 million registered voters, 782,000 are Republicans…648,000 are Democrats…and 772,000 are registered as “no party” voters.
That means there are more registered Republicans than anything else, followed by “no party” voters, with Democrats in third place—124,000 voters behind “no party” and 134,000 behind Republicans.
I suspect that spike in registered Republicans has to do with the contested Iowa Caucus last January…Democrats had no contest and nothing resembling the party-building caucuses of the past.
Consistent with some past checks of the data, both of eastern Iowa’s districts have “no party” as the largest block, with Republicans in second place and Democrats trailing. In each of the 1st and 2nd districts, “no party” outdistances the GOP by 20,000 voters.
In western Iowa’s 4th district, it’s pretty red, with “no party” in second. Republicans have roughly 110,000 more registered voters than Democrats do in that district.
And you could not get closer than the 3rd district, including Des Moines…183,000 Republicans…182,000 “no party” voters…and 178,000 Democrats.
In a state where you cannot vote by straight partisan ticket, some of these advantages are negated. But it would suggest Republicans have a stronger base upon which to cultivate votes in November.
