Iowa
Weekend Upper Midwestern Presidential Poll Roundup
The nearly uniform surge enjoyed by Barack Obama in the national polls over John McCain this past week has so far only translated into a bump in the polls in the Upper Midwest in the state of Wisconsin, with his…
Read MoreUpper Midwestern Presidential Poll Roundup
A deluge of public opinion polls has surfaced during the past week gauging voter preferences in the presidential race, particularly in the Upper Midwest – home to three of the nation’s classic battleground states. In Minnesota, the three latest polls…
Read MoreUpper Midwesterns Back McCain on Foreign Policy; Domestic Policy Mixed
A series of SurveyUSA polls across the Upper Midwest finds registered voters more confident John McCain can better handle foreign policy issues and immigration, while Barack Obama has the edge on health care. In a surprising turn, Obama ends up…
Read MoreObama Lead Narrows in Iowa While Harkin’s Lead Expands
In another bit of sobering news for the Barack Obama campaign, a new Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters in Iowa finds his double-digit lead over John McCain from a month ago now standing at 5 points. In July, Obama’s…
Read MoreIowa House Democrats Eye to Expand Advantage in ’08
Iowa Democrats seek to retain control of the House of Representatives in back-to-back elections for the first time since 1988/1990. Democrats won control of the House in 2006 with a 5-seat gain (as projected by Smart Politics), ending a 14-year…
Read MoreThe Decline of a President: Tracing Bush’s Approval Ratings in the Upper Midwest
Despite rising national unemployment rates, high gas prices, and overall economic uncertainty, George W. Bush remains basically no less popular among Upper Midwesterners in 2008 than he was in 2007. A Smart Politics study of nearly 180 public opinion polls…
Read MoreWhat Is the Democratic Ceiling Across Upper Midwestern State Legislatures?
The 2006 election saw Democratic takeovers of 3 of the 6 Upper Midwestern legislative chambers previously controlled by the Republicans. Democrats now control 5 chambers (the Iowa House and Senate, the Minnesota House and Senate, and the Wisconsin Senate) with…
Read MoreRasmussen Poll: Obama Up Big in MN, IA, Competitive in the Dakotas
Barack Obama is looking to become the first Democratic candidate to sweep the Upper Midwest since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. New polling by Rasmussen indicates Obama is currently competitive enough in the Dakotas to have a chance at doing…
Read MoreBattleground States Through the Lens of the U.S. Senate
What makes a battleground state a battleground state? For one, obviously, presidential races decided by narrow victory margins. But another way is to examine how a state has voted in other statewide elections. Does a state tend to only elect…
Read MoreThe Upper Midwestern Voting Bloc in Presidential Elections
Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have been (correctly) labeled as key battleground states in recent presidential elections. With the exception of George W. Bush’s narrow victory in the Hawkeye State in 2004, the three states have voted as a bloc dating…
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