The state’s 99 counties, some urban and growing, others rural and declining, parceled out their support in ways that foreshadowed how the rest of primary season could unfold. The GOP frontrunners have each found support in different slices of America. As they prepare to square off in New Hampshire, the question is not only whose platform or personality will resonate the most with voters, but also which voters, where they live, and how many of them will turn out.
In Iowa, Rubio was especially successful in more urban, educated, places, while Trump and Cruz battled it out for the rest of the state. The results could be summed up by this narrative: Trump seemed to represent a shrinking, in part dying segment of America. Rubio represented the opposite — a growing, and more educated group of voters. Cruz’s voters shared characteristics with Trump’s, though the numbers didn’t tell as dramatic a trend.
The patterns are clear in the following five charts, which illustrate relationships between how counties voted in the GOP caucuses, and their economic or social circumstances. Each circle represents one of Iowa’s counties. The size of the circle corresponds to the number of votes that a candidate earned in that county.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member