What happened? In 2020, Iowa moved from swing state to safe state.

For many years Iowa has been considered a swing state and a bellwether state, indicating the political direction of the country as a whole. The 2020 general election, however, saw Republican successes across US House and State Legislative races. Andrew Green writes that the GOP has flipped the state from ‘swing’ to ‘safe’ by making gains among rural Iowans and by winning far more voters on election day, despite Democrats having an advantage in early voting numbers.