Iowa went big for Trump, but there are signs its voters are souring on the president
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Iowa went big for Trump, but there are signs its voters are souring on the president, @daveweigel reports:
PowerPost
Iowa went big for Trump, but there are signs its voters are souring on the president
By David Weigel January 1 at 6:39 PM
DES MOINES As Republicans celebrated their tax bill passing Congress late last month, Iowa Democrats raised a toast of their own. Candidates for Congress and governor, gathered at the annual Progress Iowa holiday party, took turns recapping a year of sinking GOP poll numbers and Democratic special-election wins the waking of a sleeping bear, they said.
If Trump were to run again, hed be in deep trouble, said Janet Petersen, the leader of Iowas Senate Democrats. A dog bites you the first time, its not your fault. The second time it bites you, its your own damn fault.
Iowa, the epicenter of the Republicans 2014 and 2016 surge, is not an obvious place for a Democratic comeback. Unemployment, sinking under 4 percent when Donald Trump won the state, has fallen to 3 percent. Iowas Republican delegation to Washington voted for the tax cut bill with no qualms or protests. Iowans can also subtract their federal income taxes from their state income taxes, a bonus enjoyed in only five other states.
Poll, an industry standard conducted by Des Moines-based Selzer and Co., found Trump with
just 35 percent approval in the state. Only 34 percent of Iowans said they would back Republicans for Congress in 2018, and 61 percent said they were turned off by politics altogether.
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David Weigel is a national political correspondent covering Congress and grassroots political movements. He's the author of "The Show That Never Ends," a history of progressive rock music. Follow
@daveweigel