Democratic Turnout Shatters Old Record in Iowa
A stunning result all around. That's how NPR's Mara Liasson described the results in Iowa last night.
Mara reported on Morning Edition that last night produced several surprises: the only demographic that Sen. Hillary Clinton won was those 65 and older, that Sen. Barack Obama did so well among women (beating Clinton 35-30 percent according to exit polls), particularly younger women, and that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee attracted support not only from evangelicals but from all groups of Republican voters.
And then there was the turnout. The tally was 239,000 Democrats, and 112,000 Republicans. Both were the highest totals ever for each party, but the Democratic total in particular was stunning. It shattered the old record of 124,00 from 2000, and as Mara says, tells us a lot about the energy in the Democratic Party right now. And many of those who attended Democratic events last night were first time caucusgoers.
Since the process in Iowa has begun, observers and pundits have mentioned that the Democrats seemed to be much more energized about their candidates, that their rallies were almost always bigger, noisier and more passionate than the Republican rallies - Mike Huckabee's gatherings being the one exception.
Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen notes that this huge Democratic turnout, in what last election was a "red state," does not bode well for the Republicans.
7:01 AM ET | 01- 4-2008 | permalink
