THE DES MOINES REGISTER/MEDIACOM IOWA POLL
SELZER & COMPANY
501 Likely Democratic primary voters statewide
Margin of error: ± 4.4 percentage points

Study #2172
May 13-15, 2018
1,880 general population contacts
weighted by age and sex
Poll Questions

Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
How likely is it you will vote in the Democratic primary election for Iowa governor and some other offices to be held
in June—will you definitely vote, probably vote, might or might not vote, probably not vote, or have you already
voted?
Already voted
Definitely vote
Probably vote
Might or might not vote
Probably not vote
Refused/not sure

Continue
Collect age, sex, race, education and congressional
district and terminate

I'd like to begin by mentioning the names of some candidates running for the Democratic nomination for governor. For
each name I read, please tell me if your feelings toward the person are very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly
unfavorable, or very unfavorable. If you don’t know the person, just say so. (Record “don’t know” as “not sure.”
Rotate list.).
Net
Net
Very
Mostly
Mostly
Very
Not
Favorable Unfavorable Favorable Favorable Unfavorable Unfavorable Sure

Nate Boulton, state senator
Cathy Glasson, union leader
Fred Hubbell, retired business executive
Andy McGuire, physician
John Norris, former federal appointee
Ross Wilburn, former mayor of Iowa
City

48
34
54
23
24

9
14
13
13
10

19
12
24
5
7

29
23
30
18
18

5
8
7
8
6

4
6
5
5
4

43
52
33
64
66

22

11

6

16

6

5

67

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 (If already voted, ask:) In the Democratic primary for governor, for whom did you vote? (Read list. Rotate.)
(If definitely vote, ask:) If the Democratic primary for governor were held today, which one of the following
candidates would you vote for? (Read list. Rotate.)
(Asked only of those who would definitely vote and do not name a first choice candidate:) Toward which
candidate would you say you are leaning, or support the most?
Are any of these candidates unacceptable to you if they were to become the nominee—either in the primary or if
nominated at the Democratic state convention? (Read names of candidates not selected in the horserace question.
Mark all that apply. Multiple responses accepted, so total may exceed 100%.)

Total Vote

Nate Boulton
Cathy Glasson
Fred Hubbell
Andy McGuire
John Norris
Ross Wilburn
None of these/someone else/would not vote (VOL)
Refused/not sure
All are acceptable

20
13
31
5
5
3
10
14
N/A

Unacceptable

4
6
5
4
4
3
N/A
32
55

(If “none” or “not sure” in horserace first choice question, do not ask, but code “Could still be persuaded.” If
already voted, code “Mind is made up” and do not ask.) When it comes to your support of [CANDIDATE NAMED
IN HORSERACE FIRST CHOICE QUESTION), would you say your mind is made up, or could you still be persuaded
to support another candidate as your first choice?
23
75
2

Mind is made up
Could still be persuaded
Not sure

Regardless of which candidate you support, which one do you think has the best chance to defeat Kim Reynolds, the
incumbent governor? (Read list if needed. Rotate.)
14
6
35
3
4
1
6
32

Nate Boulton
Cathy Glasson
Fred Hubbell
Andy McGuire
John Norris
Ross Wilburn
None (VOL)
Not sure

In general, do you think the national Democratic Party is headed in the right direction, or has it gotten off on the wrong
track?
50
43
7

Right direction
Wrong track
Not sure
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 What about here in Iowa? Do you think the state Democratic Party is headed in the right direction, or has it gotten off on
the wrong track?
59
30
12

Right direction
Wrong track
Not sure

I’m going to mention things some say are current threats to Iowa’s future. For each, please tell me whether you consider
this a major threat, a minor threat, or not much of a threat to Iowa’s future. (Rotate list.)
Major
threat

Minor
threat

Not much of
a threat

52
81
67
55
51
31
59
45
79
78

34
13
18
32
38
46
21
32
12
15

10
4
7
10
6
14
12
10
5
4

Lack of well-paying jobs
Cuts to education funding
Privatized Medicaid
Water quality
Inadequate spending on infrastructure
Lack of rural development
Restrictions on abortion
Trade tariffs
Inadequate and unaffordable health care
Inadequate mental health care facilities

Not
Sure

4
3
8
3
5
9
8
13
3
3

Thinking about the skills of [CANDIDATE NAMED IN Q.3a/b), which ONE or TWO of these threats would be the
easiest for your candidate to address? (Asked only of those who named a candidate in the horserace question; n=384.
Multiple responses accepted, so total may exceed 100%. Read list if needed, using underlined shortcuts. Rotate.)
Rank-ordered.
36
23
22
15
15
13
9
6
4
4
10

Cuts to education funding
Inadequate mental health care facilities
Inadequate and unaffordable health care
Privatized Medicaid
Lack of well-paying jobs
Restrictions on abortion
Water quality
Inadequate spending on infrastructure
Trade tariffs
Lack of rural development
None of the above (VOL)/Not sure
About the Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted May 13-15 for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based
on telephone interviews with 501 Iowans ages 18 or older who say they will definitely vote or have already voted early in
the Democratic primary this June.
Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted 1,880 households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers
supplied by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age and
sex to reflect the general population based on recent census data.
Questions based on the subsample of 501 likely Democratic primary voters have a maximum margin of error of plus or
minus 4.4 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same
methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 4.4
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 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents—such as by gender or age—have a larger margin of
error.
Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is
prohibited.

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