Friday, January 12, 2024

GET ME REWRITE: Washington Post reporter travels to Iowa and discover that shrinking Decatur County and growing Dallas County are moving in opposite directions

 
The 2020 population of Decatur County (7,645) has decreased 58% since its 1900 peak of 18,115.  The county now has fewer residents than it did in the 1850s.
 
Source:  Wikipedia

Decatur County.  Overwhelming white + below average level of education + older = MAGA festival.




% of population 25 and older with bachelor's degree:
  • 24.9% - Decatur County
  • 32.9% - Iowa
  • 33.7% - U.S.
% of population 65 and older:
  • 21.2% - Decatur County
  • 16.9% - Iowa
  • 16.8% - U.S.

Which is why this gaping maw developed after 2012.  Barack Obama nearly won the county in 2008.  Mitt Romney beat Obama by 4.1 percentage points in 2012.  Hillary Clinton did not resonate with voters in 2016.  Donald Trump smothered Joe Biden with a 39.4 percentage-point advantage.  MAGA festival indeed!

3rd-party candidates received 20.2% of vote in 1992, 13.5% of vote in 1996, 6.4% in 2016;
(Alabama segregationist George Wallace received 5.9 of the vote in 1968)

Now let's take a look at Dallas County.

The population of Dallas County has increased % since 2000.  The county has 13 times the number of residents of shrinking Decatur County.  The gap continues to widen.


Dallas County is not exactly a bastion of diversity, but it does more closely reflect of demographics of Iowa.


% of population 25 and older with bachelor's degree:
  • 51.5% - Dallas County
  • 32.9% - Iowa
  • 33.7% - U.S.
% of population 65 and older:
  • 12.8% - Dallas County
  • 16.9% - Iowa
  • 16.8% - U.S.

Growing population, high level education, younger on average + NEVER TRUMPERS.  Dallas County is not MAGAland.



So, in the long run, who do you think is going to win this contest?

RGD riff inspired by


Related post:
This cup is a big seller in shrinking, aging Howard County Iowa.  (1/12/2024)
)

No comments:

Post a Comment