Iowa and Louisiana are two states in the United States with unique political landscapes. Both states have a strong focus on conservative values and Protestant Christian traditions, yet they also boast vibrant progressive movements. In Iowa, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has been in office since 2017, and the state legislature is currently controlled by Republicans. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards has held office since 2016, though Republicans retain control of both houses of the state legislature. Both states feature major party candidates for most offices at local levels as well as statewide offices. Additionally, third-party candidates often appear on ballots in both states during elections. As a result of these diverse political backgrounds, both Iowa and Louisiana feature a variety of perspectives and opinions on issues affecting their residents.
The political climate in Iowa, LA is moderately conservative.
Calcasieu County, LA is very conservative. In Calcasieu County, LA 31.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 66.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Calcasieu parish remained overwhelmingly Republican, 66.6% to 31.4%.
Calcasieu county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Iowa, LA is moderately conservative.
Calcasieu County, Louisiana is very conservative.
Lake Charles Metro Area is very conservative.
Louisiana is moderately conservative.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Iowa, Louisiana: r R R R R R
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Iowa, LA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 48 contributions totaling $22,964 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $478 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 79 contributions totaling $114,407 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $1,448 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)