Iowa isn’t becoming a new Missouri , it’s becoming what Iowa was before the farm crises . Before the farm crises Iowa was a ruby red state that voted more republican from 1856-1984 than Kansas did as it only voted Dem 5 times until 1984 . From 1988-2012 it voted democratic 6 times so it’s not really a traditional democratic state at all .
It’s literally just a Dukakis/Bill Clinton/Obama dem state
Looking at just whether they voted R or D isn't really fair, especially considering how much of a R landslide most elections were between the VRA and the 90s. 1976 was the only D win, and IA was really close, with Carter doing better in IA than in MI and neighboring IL. IA was also Mondale's best midwestern state outside of MN.
