GOP Sweeps 2018 Iowa Youth Straw Poll

Republicans have swept the Iowa Youth Straw Poll for the Iowa Gubernatorial race and all four Congressional races.  

Students chose Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds over Democrat challenger Fred Hubbell in Iowa’s gubernatorial race, Congressman Rod Blum (R-Iowa) over State Representative Abby Finkenauer (D-Dubuque) in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race, Republican challenger Christopher Peters over Congressman Dave Loebsack in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, Congressman David Young (R-Iowa) over Democrat challenger Cindy Axne in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District Race, and Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) over his Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District race.

Almost 40,000 votes by students representing hundreds of schools participating in 92 of Iowa’s 99 counties have been counted in the unscientific poll.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office invited every school and youth group in Iowa to take part. Most of the participants are high school students. 84 percent of those voting said they intended to register to vote when they are old enough

“I want to thank all the teachers, principals and staff that helped make the Youth Straw Poll possible, but most importantly, thank you to the 40,000 students who made their voices heard,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said. “This was hopefully a valuable, hands-on learning experience for them, and I hope all of them will continue to be a voter throughout their lives.”

“I am so proud of the students who are getting an early start in civic engagement, and hope these young Iowans understand the importance of voting and making their voices heard regardless of who they support,” Reynolds said in response to the straw poll results. “I believe the results are a reflection of all the great things we are doing to make Iowa an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. While I am thrilled to win the 2018 Youth Straw Poll, we have a lot of work to do to make sure that on Election Day this Republican Team is put back in office so that we can Keep Iowa Moving.”

Here are the results as of 4:20p on Wednesday afternoon:

Iowa Gubernatorial Race

1. Kim Reynolds/Adam Gregg (Republican) – 46.5% (18,731)
2. Fred Hubbell/Rita Hart (Democrat) – 38.2% (15,357)
3. Gary Siegwarth/Natalia Blaskovich (Clear Water Party) – 8.3% (3,334)
4. Jake Porter/Lynne Gentry (Libertarian) – 7.0% (2,824)
   

Iowa 1st Congressional District Race

1. Rod Blum (Republican) – 47.5% (5,828)
2. Abby Finkenauer (Democrat) – 44.5% (5,458)
3. Troy Hageman (Libertarian) – 7.9% (972)

Iowa 2nd Congressional District Race

1. Christopher Peters (Republican) 42.3% (2,837)
2. Dave Loebsack (Democrat) 38.5% (2,583)
3. Daniel Clark (Independent) 9.6% (646)
4. Mark David Strauss (Libertarian) 9.5% (639)

Iowa 3rd Congressional District Race

1. David Young (Republican)  – 45.3% (5,705)
2. Cindy Axne (Democrat) – 37.0% (4,665)
3. Bryan Jack Holder (Libertarian) – 5.6% (704)
4. Mark Elsworth, Jr. (Legal Medical Now) – 5.4% (681)
5. Joe Grandanette (Independent) – 3.4% (431)
6. Paul Knupp (Green Party) – 3.3% (414)

Iowa 4th Congressional District Race 

1. Steve King (Republican) – 53.4% (4,172)
2. J.D. Scholten (Democrat) – 34.3% (2,675)
3. Charles Aldrich (Libertarian) – 6.5% (505)
4. Edward Petersen (Independent) – 5.8% (456)

Below is a list of schools that participated.