The Hawkeye state has been the bull's eye for presidential contenders since
Jimmy Carter's stunning upset from Southern unknown to front runner who upset
incumbent Gerald Ford in 1976.
Iowa's influence has diminished considerably, however, since the flip-flop
over the final tally over the GOP caucus results earlier this year. First,
Romney appeared to win the state by the most razor-thin of margins, then the
voters tallied later gave the number one spot to Rick Santorum, who played well
in rural states and evangelical voters, yet did not launch Santorum into the
much-needed front-runner status to overtake Romney, whose money and campaign
centers in key states enabled him to maintain his higher delegate tally.
Now with the GOP nomination all but wrapped up, Romney is on the offense in
this key swing-state, which has flipped for the GOP, then the Democratic contender
in every other presidential election since the disputed 2000 debacle.
Following the ouster of three Supreme Court judges for supporting gay
marriage, Iowa has retrenched itself as a tilting-right Midwestern state, still
resisting the liberal influence of media elites and academic circles, both of
which enjoy an unsavory representative in the current president. Despite
Romney's business pedigree and North Eastern roots, the GOP challenger should
have little trouble shoring up the remaining skeptics of the Republican field,
taking with him the Hawkeye state and the other central and mountain communities
which uncharacteristically swung for Obama in 2008.