Interesting Iowa/New Hampshire Factoids

Some interesting factoids about the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary -

• Three of the past five winners of the GOP caucuses have gone on the win the nomination.

• Of the 13 contested caucuses in both parties since 1972, eight times (61%) the winner of the caucus has gone on to win his party’s nomination.

• No Republican who finished lower than 3rd place in the Iowa caucus has gone on to win the party’s nomination. Only once (1988) did a third-placed finisher (George H.W. Bush) go on to win the nomination.

• No candidate who finished with less than 18% of the vote at the Iowa caucuses has ever won the nomination (also 1988).

• George H.W. Bush lost the 1988 Iowa caucus by 20,467 votes (19%) yet went on to win the nomination. Ronald Reagan lost the Iowa caucus by 2,182 votes (2.1%) yet won the nomination.

• With the exception of Bill Clinton in 1992, every major party nominee who lost Iowa went on to win New Hampshire.

• The largest victory margin of the Iowa caucus was Bob Dole’s 13,900-vote win (12.8%) in 1988. The narrowest previous victory margin was George H.W. Bush with 2,182 votes (2.1%) over Reagan in 1980.

• The previous high for turnout was 108,806 in 1988, and the previous low was 87,666 in 2000.

• Bob Dole garnered the most votes of any GOP candidate in the Iowa caucuses—40,661 votes in 1988.

• Only GOP incumbent presidents (Bush 2004, Bush 1992, Reagan 1984, Ford 1976) have ever carried both Iowa and New Hampshire. No non-incumbent GOP candidate has ever carried both.

• Since 1988, every successful GOP presidential nominee has won at least 2 out of 3 of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.