Iowa’s political swing makes Obama’s wins harder to repeat

By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Associated Press

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad in 2008 to become the nation’s first Black president. Today, voters in the overwhelmingly white state aren’t showing a similar embrace for the woman running to become its first Black governor. Democrat Deidre DeJear is finding Iowa a much changed place, trending staunchly conservative and endorsing many aspects of Trumpism. Educated younger adults who were once reliable Democratic voters have fled rural Iowa, and the strength of organized labor has eroded. DeJear tells The Associated Press there is a question of whether a Black woman can win Iowa’s governorship.