SARAH WATSON MAYA MARCHEL HOFF

In the past 12 years Iowa swung from narrowly supporting Barack Obama to supporting Donald Trump all three times he was on the ballot. This summer, reporters talked with Iowans from across the state in a series called Iowa's Political Shift.

Here’s what you need to know.

1: Iowa had the most Obama-Trump counties of any state in 2016

Iowa had 30 pivot counties in 2016 — counties that swung from voting for Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. It was the most of any state.

Statewide, Iowa voted by a 6 percentage-point-margin for Obama in 2012, then swung to Trump, who won by 9 points in 2016, 8 points in 2020, and 13 points in 2024.

Key quote: “There was something different about him (Trump), and I think people in the county recognized that he was not a tradi

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