Thune's Political Clout in NW Iowa Quantified

Perry Groten posts a story on KELO titled "Thune's Political Clout in NW Iowa." Senator John Thune stopped in Rock Rapids, in Lyon County, the Iowa county closest to Sioux Falls, to stump for Senator John McCain.

Even though Thune doesn't represent any of the caucus voters in Iowa, his endorsement of McCain carries weight across the state line. Norma Jansma of Rock Rapids said, "Senator Thune has a very good reputation in this area, he's a South Dakota boy, so I think it helps." [Groten, 2007.01.03].

So how much did it help? Let's check the really cool interactive map at the Des Moines Register, which breaks down caucus results by county:

County	Top 3 Finishers		County	Top 3 Finishers
Lyon	Huckabee	42%	Clay	Huckabee	36.8%
	McCain	22.2%		Romney	20.2%
	Romney	19.8%		Thompson	17.3%
Sioux	Huckabee	52.9%	Buena Vista	Huckabee	32.5%
	McCain	15.7%		Romney	22.6%
	Romney	14%		Thompson	21%
O'Brien	Huckabee	55.7%	Cherokee	Huckabee	32.5%
	Romney	13.8%		Romney	26.9%
	Thompson	12.5%		McCain	15.6%
Osceola	Huckabee	30.6%	Plymouth	Romney	33.9%
	Paul	25.9%		Huckabee	24.8%
	Romney	20.4%		McCain	16.4%
Dickinson	Huckabee	26.3%	data compiled from Des Moines Register interactive map 2007.01.04
	McCain	25.5%
	Romney	23.7%

One could argue McCain outpaced Thompson in NW Iowa, better than his statewide third-place tie with Thompson. But even Thune's fundagelical credentials couldn't swing those Huckabee voters away from their man. (And the moment I type that, I hear Mara Liasson on NPR say that Huckabee did well among all groups of Iowa Republicans, not just the hyperreligious.) If we're talking clout, PP might have swung as many Iowa voters toward Thompson as Thune did toward McCain (let's see those site stats, PP, and count up Iowa readers!).

The Madville Times welcomes your interpretations of the data. We also welcome anyone who an explain Ron Paul's outstanding performance in Sibley and the rest of Osceola County.