Politics

Is Iowa a Swing State Again?

It used to be up for grabs in every election. By 2024, it was solidly Republican ground. But a few things have happened since then.

Iowa PBS

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Democrats were once ready to write off Iowa. After decades of being the quintessential swing state, it seemed the rise of Donald Trump had shifted the Hawkeye State back to being safely Republican. By 2024, there was not a single Democrat in its entire congressional delegation, the GOP had supermajorities in both chambers of the state Legislature, and a state that Barack Obama won twice had been won three times in a row by Donald Trump.

That’s not the case anymore. Democrats have made a remarkable comeback in Iowa in just two years. The state that Trump won by more than 13 points in 2024 has now become the central political battlefield in the midterms.…