Election 2024: Iowa party registration falling, especially Democrats, Independents

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) - The number of Iowans who are registered with a political party has changed since the last presidential election. The number of active registered Democrats and Independents is down. Active Republican registrations are down too, but the party now has a clear lead.

Looking into the numbers, you see how Republican candidates have fared better over the past decade. The number of Active Democratic Voters dropped 220,000 since July of 2020. At the same time, the number of active no party voters dropped 180,000. Republicans only lost 52,000.

That means there are now more registered Republicans than registered Democrats or those registered no party….and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate who has been in elected office 35 years…says this is the first time he can remember this happening

“In my adult life, this is the first time I can ever remember that the Republicans do outnumber the Democrats and they also outnumber the no party. Cause no party is usually the higher number of the three categories,” Pate said.

Pate says party registrations are driven by candidates. “It’s driven by a messaging and that’s candidates, so if the party has a really dynamic candidate out there, someone who’s inspiring them, you seen an uptick. You look at historically you’ll see that. We saw that with Barack Obama, we saw that with Ronald Reagan, we saw that with Trump’s first election cycle, so there’s a cycle there,” he said.

Here’s how Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart explains the changes:

“You know, it’s hard to tell but you know I think that it’s no surprise to anyone that the Republicans have some momentum around a personality,” she said.

While Iowans have favored Republican candidates in the last eight years, Pate says that can always change. “They may have a dynamo they pull out here in the near future that would shift it right back and it doesn’t take long. Seriously, four or six years you can shift it right back the other way if you have the right candidates and the right message,” Pate said.

With the change on the Democratic presidential ticket, Hart says enthusiasm is growing.

“There are so many people, new people, that are stepping up and wanting to volunteer. Younger people and people that are just simply excited about the surge that we’re seeing here of popularity in this top of the ticket,” Hart said.

Another explanation behind the changes is a 2021 law that marks voters inactive if they don’t vote in a general election. That’s led to the number of inactive voters growing. All parties saw that number increase, but it hit independents the most.

If your voter registration has been marked inactive, you can return to active status by voting, requesting an absentee ballot, or updating your voter registration.

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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at [email protected]; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.

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