Iowa in 1988

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I was looking up the results in from the 1988 election on this site, and I noticed that Dukakis won Iowa by more than 10%.  It was Dukakis's 2nd best state, after RI...he won it by more than he won Massachusetts!

Four years later, Clinton won Iowa by almost exactly his national average, and that is pretty much how it has gone in the last two elections.  And it's not like Iowa was historic Democrat territory that has recently shifted right...Ford won it in 1976, and Reagan won it by more than his national average in 1980.

So it appears that Iowa earned its "blue state" reputation solely from this one election.  What was so unusual in Iowa in 1988?

[weallbleed]

This region was being hit pretty hard by a farm crisis at the time. Note that Dukakis did better in South Dakota than his national average, and he actually carried my county (Minnehaha).

I also suspect since the Iowa caucus is the first in the nation, Dukakis's campaigning there gave the people there a positive view of him before he got hit by Lee Atwater's negative ads.

[minionofmidas]

Dukakis did very well all across the Northwest and Upper Midwest.
In two words: Farm Crisis.
I'd have to check, but I think in most of these states he got the second highest post Truman Democrat result.