When and how Iowans picked presidential candidates

Just like some people know the exact moment they fell in love, some Iowans can pinpoint when they decided which presidential candidate to support and why.

'Last summer, I decided to watch Ben Carson's movie,” Laina Myers, 46, of North Liberty, said about 'Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as the pediatric neurosurgeon now running for the GOP presidential nomination.

'He has such a servant's heart,” she said of Carson. 'To me, he embodies exactly what this country is.”

Myers was so sure about Carson she became his Johnson County chair and convinced her daughter, Chandler Myers, 18, to support him too.

David Hasan, a lifelong Republican, found himself in unfamiliar territory Monday night: the Democratic caucus site at Macbride Hall.

'I'm a devoted Republican,” said Hasan, 43, a neurosurgeon at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 'I'm converting because of Bernie.”

Hasan said his shift in politics came during the first Democratic debate in October, when Sanders chose to focus on the issues, rather than attack opponent Hillary Clinton on Benghazi. His stance was strengthened by the belief that the Republican candidates are not fit to lead, he said.

Hasan said he doesn't agree with Sanders '100 percent ... . (But), overall, his message kind of appeals to me.”

That same debate solidified Dominic Iannone's support for Clinton. 'It forced her to articulate her positions,” said the 32-year-old Iowa City West High history teacher.

He and his wife Alex, 32, brought their sons, Rowan and Ash, to caucus at the North Liberty Recreation Center.

Rowan, 6, also wants Clinton to win: 'She would be a girl president and we haven't had a girl president. She might make rules that boys wouldn't.”

Josiah Argo, 18, a student at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, knew he'd caucus for Republican Rand Paul from the first time he saw Paul speak at the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

'I'd heard about him and his message, and then I saw him speak, and he blew me away,” Argo said.

Many Iowans have resisted being pinned down.

A Quinnipiac University Poll of likely Republican caucusgoers from mid-December showed 53 percent said they might change their minds about which candidate to support. About one-third of Democrats polled at that time said they could still switch candidates.

The share of likely caucusgoers willing to change their minds shrunk in January, but the Quinnipiac Poll released Monday showed 28 percent of Republicans likely to attend the caucuses might still change their minds, compared to 19 percent of Democrats.

Many of the people attending the seven GOP precincts caucusing at New Covenant Bible Church in Robins said they made their choice in the final days and weeks of the campaign. They listened to the candidate debates and read as much as they could about candidate positions on various national and international issues.

'I decided about three days ago that with all that has gone on, Marco Rubio is the best one for us,” said Belinha Hampton, 81, a retired teacher from Cedar Rapids. 'I listened to the debates and I read the newspaper. I liked his background and the way he presented his ideas.”

Here's when Democrat Martin O'Malley got Margo Ballou's support:

'Yesterday,” said the mid-40s project manager from North Liberty. 'He articulates his policies and the means he intends to use to achieve his goals. (But) if we don't get him a delegate, I'm going over to Hillary Clinton.”

Gazette reporters Lee Hermiston, George Ford and Jessie Hellmann contributed to this report.