2020 United States presidential election in Iowa

2020 United States presidential election in Iowa

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
Turnout	75.77% (3.0 pp)
Nominee Donald Trump Joe Biden Party Republican Democratic Home state Florida Delaware Running mate Mike Pence Kamala Harris Electoral vote 6 0 Popular vote 897,672 759,061 Percentage 53.09% 44.89%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Trump   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Biden   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Tie
President before election Donald Trump Republican Elected President Joe Biden Democratic

Elections in Iowa
Federal government U.S. Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential caucuses Democratic 1976 1980 1984 1992 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 1980 1996 2000 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1848 1849 1852 1855 1857 sp 1858 1860 1864 1866 1866 sp 1870 1870 sp 1872 1878 1882 1882 sp 1884 1888 1890 1894 1896 1900 1902 1902 sp 1907 1908 1908 sp 1909 1911 sp 1913 1914 1918 1920 1922 sp 1924 1926 1926 sp 1930 1932 1936 1936 sp 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1846 1847 1848 1850 1st sp 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1861 1st sp 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 2nd sp 1872 1874 1876 1878 1879 5th sp 1880 1882 1883 6th sp 1884 7th sp 1886 1888 1890 7th sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 10th sp 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1911 9th sp 1912 11th sp 1914 2nd sp 1916 1918 1920 1921 5th sp 1922 1923 8th sp 1924 1926 1928 9th sp 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 6th sp 1942 9th sp 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1959 4th sp 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government General elections 2009 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1846 1850 1854 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2014 2018 2022 Senate elections 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Specials House of Representatives elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Territorial Council elections 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845
Ballot measures 2020 Question 1 2022 Amendment 1
Cedar Rapids Mayoral elections 2021
Des Moines Mayoral elections 1997 sp 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

The 2020 United States presidential election in Iowa was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated.^[1] Iowa voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Iowa has six electoral votes in the Electoral College.^[2]

Trump won the state 53.1% to Biden's 44.9%. Prior to this election, most news organizations had considered Iowa as either leaning towards Trump or a tossup. As was the case in Ohio, this election has confirmed Iowa's trend from a Midwestern swing state toward the GOP column, the same trend as neighboring Missouri starting in 2008. Iowa had voted Democratic in six of seven elections prior to 2016, the exception being George W. Bush's narrow plurality win in 2004. In 2016, however, Iowa voted for Trump by an unexpectedly large margin of 9.4%, voting over ten points to the right of the nation overall, indicating a possible realignment of the previously Democratic-leaning state towards the GOP, much as in the case of West Virginia in 2000 and 2004. Even though Biden contested the state,^[3] Trump ended up carrying it by only a slightly reduced margin of 8.2% even as his national margin of defeat grew by 2.4%, meaning that the state voted even further to the right of the national average than it did in 2016.

This marked the first time since 2000 that the state voted for the national loser, and the first since 1988 that it voted for the loser of the popular and electoral vote. Biden improved on Hillary Clinton's margins in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids metropolitan areas and traditionally conservative western Iowa, the latter of which borders Nebraska's 2nd congressional district (Omaha metropolitan area), an electoral vote Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020. Trump improved on his 2016 performance in populist northeast and south Iowa and became the first Republican to win Iowa in back-to-back elections since Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Biden also became the first Democrat to be elected president without winning Iowa since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Iowa is one of three states that voted twice for Barack Obama and Trump, the other two being Ohio and Florida. This is also the first time since 2004 that Iowa voted for a different candidate than neighboring Wisconsin.