AARP Hearing Center
The 2024 presidential nominating contests officially kicked off this week with Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Close to 110,000 Iowans gathered in school gyms and auditoriums, community centers, and libraries to hear speeches from each candidates’ supporters and then cast their ballots. Former President Trump secured a decisive victory, winning 98 of 99 counties.
In addition to the final tally, there are a number of takeaways that we’ll be watching as the presidential campaign moves through the primary process and into the general election:
#1: Older voters SHOW UP and decide elections.
Despite record-breaking cold and treacherous driving conditions, older Iowans turned out in big numbers on caucus night. According to the CNN entrance polls, fully 7 in 10 caucus goers were age 50+, up from a little over 6 in 10 in 2016 – the last election without an incumbent Republican candidate. And, the majority of these older caucus goers cast their ballots for former President Trump, with 55% of 50-64 year olds and 58% of those 65+ supporting the former president.
#2: There is a big education divide.
We saw a significant difference in the candidate preferences of caucus goers with and without college degrees. While former President Trump carried two-thirds (67%) of non-college educated caucus-goers, he was favored by 37% of college graduates, more than half of whom split their votes between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (26%) and former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (28%).
#3: Voters want to see bipartisan cooperation.
According to Fox News voter analysis, nearly 9 in 10 Iowans say it is important that the Republican nominee for president is willing to work across party lines. This includes 52% of voters that consider this “very important.”
#4: Immigration is a national focus for Republican voters.
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