Cedar County ‘petri dish’ of electoral politics

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar County is a little bit country and a little bit, well, metropolitan, Dawn Smith said.

'You add that together and we're, I guess you'd call it, a petri dish for the country,” the chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors says to explain why the southeastern Iowa county is a bellwether in presidential elections.

Since 1992, this county of just fewer than 20,000 not only has backed the winner of the presidential race, but the results have reflected the statewide outcome. Combined with going with the winner in U.S. Senate elections, Cedar County is on a 13-and-0 streak.

'We have a wide, diverse population,” Smith said.

Cedar County has a farm-based economy as well as manufacturing. However, she added, being near the Quad Cities, Iowa City and Muscatine, many professionals commute to the more urban communities.

Although the county is not as ethnically diverse as some areas, about 18 percent of the population identifies as Hispanic, according to the 2010 Census.

'We also have two very active political parties, and the presidential candidates stop here,” she said.

In 1996, Cedar County voted 50 percent to 39 percent for Democrat Bill Clinton over Bob Dole compared to a 50 to 40 percent margin for the winner.

In 2004, Cedar County and Iowa went 50 percent to 49 percent for George W. Bush over Al Gore. Same in 2008 when it and state backed Barack Obama 54 percent to 44 percent.

In 2012, Cedar County voted 52 percent to 47 percent for President Barack Obama while the statewide margin was 52 percent to 46 percent.

Even in 2000, when the final outcome of the election wasn't decided officially until the Supreme Court weighed in December, Cedar County reflected the closeness of the race in Iowa and the nation.

When the polls had closed, Bush and Gore were tied in Cedar County. After a recount, the county gave Gore a 48.3 percent to 48.1 percent victory. The state results - 48.5 percent to 48.2 percent for Gore.

Smith, who served three terms as mayor of Durant where she owns a retirement home, said there typically is a healthy political discussion going on in Cedar County convenience stores and coffee shops.

'You might not agree with folks, but they're your neighbors and you discuss politics,' she said. 'I don't see the hostility and polarization (that is elsewhere), and I think that's because we talk.”

However, this year, people seem less willing to say for whom they're voting.

'It might be like Reagan when people thought he'd be the best president, but didn't want to say they were voting for him,” the first-term Republican supervisor said.

If it's any indication, more Republicans than Democrats voted early in Cedar County. According to the Secretary of State Office, 3,533 early votes were cast on ballots requested by 1,342 Republicans, 1,206 Democrats and 985 no party/other voters. Voter registration is split 40 percent no party/other, 33 percent Republican and 27 percent Democrat.

Follow the election results from Cedar County at thegazette.com.