Stereotypes to Avoid

As a relatively small, Midwestern state with strong agricultural traditions, Iowa may seem like an unlikely place to start the process of picking our presidents. While farming plays a large role in the Hawkeye State culturally and economically, Iowa is a place of urban and rural, old and new, and corporate and quaint.

It would be wrong to paint Iowans as the hayseeds on television’s Green Acres or to assume that each Iowa couple poses solemn and simple in front of their home in the style of Grant Wood’s American Gothic. Unlike the movie The Music Man, Iowans aren’t easily taken by smooth talk or scam, and they work to make educated choices in their presidential preferences.

In total population Iowa ranks 30th nationwide, ahead of other lead-off states New Hampshire at 40th and Nevada at 35th and behind South Carolina at 24th. According to a 2009 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, statistics on the urban and rural divide in Iowa show some results that may surprise. The majority of Iowans (56.7 percent) are classified as living in urban communities, while 43.3 percent live in rural areas. While the population of Iowa tends to be less racially diverse than some other places in the country, that has not proven to be an inhibiting factor for minority candidates competing in Iowa. In 1988, the Rev. Jesse Jackson took nearly 9 percent of the caucus vote by connecting with labor and farmers and even set up his statewide headquarters in the rural town of Greenfield. Conservative commentator Alan Keyes earned third place in the 2000 Iowa caucuses with over 14 percent of the vote. Iowa again proved an equitable place to play in 2008, when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won 38 percent of county convention delegates and a first-place finish on his way to the Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency.

Iowa is the top pork-producing state in the nation and grows more corn and soybeans than any other state (and many countries), but it is also home to many other economic engines. Investment and potential growth have made Iowa one of the top producing states for wind energy, fueling a new energy revolution. The capital city Des Moines is one of the largest insurance company hubs in the country and home to a number of corporate headquarters. Forbes magazine selected Des Moines as its 2010 "Best Place for Business and Careers." It’s no surprise the state does so well, as Iowans have always placed a high priority on education. In high school graduation rates, Iowa ranks near or at the top nationwide and above the national average in high school graduates as a percentage of the population.