Iowa Voters 2008: Concerned, Worried, but Hopeful

When Iowans headed to the polls on November 4, 2008, many issues were on their minds. In order to understand the concerns of Iowa voters as the new administration and Congress take office, AARP Iowa commissioned a postelection survey of 700 voters.

While the economy (79%) and health care (67%) were the most important issues to Iowans’ presidential choice, six in ten voters also said government ethics, national security, Social Security, energy, and education were extremely important to their choice for President. Regardless of their choice for President, seven in ten Iowans consider the country to be on the wrong track, and 83% feel things in Washington are broken. When asked to rate how broken Washington is, 54% gave it a rating of extremely broken.

Despite this grim assessment, Iowans express hope for the future. Sixty-seven percent expect the country to be somewhat or much better off in four years, and 68% feel things in Washington will be somewhat or much better off in the next year or so. Respondents are very supportive of a bipartisan approach to legislation.

The 700 respondents aged 18 and older voted on November 4 and completed the telephone survey between November 10 and 13, 2008. For more information, contact Jeff Love at 202-434-6279. (23 pages)