Gov. George W. Bush obtained the broad victory he needed gaining support of 35,948 caucusgoers or 41.0%. He finished ahead of the field in 80 of the state's 99 counties.
Steve Forbes did better than most observers had expected. Attracting the support of 26,744 Republican caucusgoers or 30.5%, Forbes improved markedly on the 10.2% he had garnered in 1996. He finished first in 16 counties: Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Hardin, Humboldt, Ida, Keokuk, Monroe, Plymouth, Tama, Union, Washington, Webster, Winnebago, Woodbury, Worth. Forbes' best showing in a big county was Woodbury (Sioux City) (40.8% of 2,887). His strongest showing percentagewise was in Ida county (57.7% of 241); this was likely due to the Streck factor--Nancy Streck, an activist who worked on Forbes campaign, hails from Ida County.
Alan Keyes' fairly strong third place showing was one of the surprises of the evening. 12,496 caucusgoers or 14.2% turned out for Keyes, putting him well ahead of the 7.4% he had obtained in the 1996 caucuses. Strong counties for Keyes included Jefferson (Fairfield), in the southeast (29.0% of 528), Allamakee (Waukon) in the northeast (26.9% of 453) and Davis, also in the southeast (24.2% of 211). Larger counties where Keyes fared relatively well were Johnson (19.1% of 2,444), Linn (18.9% of 5,072) and Dubuque (18.8% of 1,588)
It was a disappointing evening for Gary Bauer, who finished fourth with the support of 7,487 caucusgoers or 8.5%. However, Bauer supporters noted that this first campaign; by comparison Alan Keyes, in his first campaign in 1996, had obtained 7.4% in the caucuses. Bauer did finish first in three counties: Sioux (40.1% of 2,322), Lyon (43.6% of 438) and O'Brien (29.4% of 667) counties; these are all in the northwest corner of the state. One base of support for Bauer in this area was Dordt College, a school which follows a Christian curriculum, and is located in Sioux Center (Sioux County).
Sen. John McCain, who made a point of not campaigning in Iowa, ranged from 1.1% to 11.3%. The 11.3% came in Johnson County (Iowa City--home of the University of Iowa). Other strong counties for McCain included Winnishiek (Decorah) at 8.2% and Story (Ames--Iowa State University) at 8.0%.
Sen. Orrin Hatch obtained very sparse handfuls of votes in most counties; in fact he had less than 1% in a majority of counties. Despite his serious campaign effort, Hatch finished far behind Sen. McCain. Hatch's best showings in larger counties were in Johnson (3.1% of 2,408) and Scott (2.0% of 4,379). Hatch had a base of support at Palmer Chiropractic in Davenport (Scott County).
| County | Reported | Bauer | Bush | Forbes | Hatch | Keyes | McCain | Total | |||||||
| 10 of 10 | 10 | 138 | 78 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 274 | ||||||||
| ADAIR | 3.6% | 50.4% | 28.5% | 0.7% | 11.7% | 5.1% | |||||||||
| 11 of 11 | 12 | 74 | 36 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 149 | ||||||||
| ADAMS | 8.1% | 49.7% | 24.2% | 1.3% | 12.8% | 4.0% | |||||||||
| 22 of 22 | 26 | 200 | 82 | 4 | 122 | 19 | 453 | ||||||||
| ALLAMAKEE | 5.7% | 44.2% | 18.1% | 0.9% | 26.9% | 4.2% | |||||||||
| 14 of 14 | 31 | 219 | 159 | 5 | 29 | 23 | 466 | ||||||||
| APPANOOSE | 6.7% | 47.0% | 34.1% | 1.1% | 6.2% | 4.9% | |||||||||
| 6 of 6 | 14 | 80 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 131 | ||||||||
| AUDUBON | 10.7% | 61.1% | 21.4% | 1.5% | 3.8% | 1.5% | |||||||||
| 21 of 21 | 60 | 261 | 199 | 6 | 156 | 18 | 700 | ||||||||
| BENTON | 8.6% | 37.3% | 28.4% | 0.9% | 22.3% | 2.6% | |||||||||
| 64 of 64 | 362 | 1220 | 786 | 14 | 373 | 105 | 2860 | ||||||||
| BLACK HAWK | 12.7% | 42.7% | 27.5% | 0.5% | 13.0% | 3.7% | |||||||||
| 26 of 26 | 118 | 297 | 309 | 10 | 124 | 21 | 879 | ||||||||
| BOONE | 13.4% | 33.8% | 35.2% | 1.1% | 14.1% | 2.4% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 49 | 271 | 174 | 6 | 75 | 25 | 600 | ||||||||
| BREMER | 8.2% | 45.2% | 29.0% | 1.0% | 12.5% | 4.2% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 87 | 172 | 155 | 1 | 62 | 14 | 491 | ||||||||
| BUCHANAN | 17.7% | 35.0% | 31.6% | 0.2% | 12.6% | 2.9% | |||||||||
| . | 18 of 18 | 90 | 264 | 233 | 3 | 67 | 14 | 671 | |||||||
| BUENA VISTA | 13.4% | 39.3% | 34.7% | 0.4% | 10.0% | 2.1% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 64 | 201 | 147 | 1 | 55 | 15 | 483 | ||||||||
| BUTLER | 13.3% | 41.6% | 30.4% | 0.2% | 11.4% | 3.1% | |||||||||
| 18 of 19 | 15 | 129 | 134 | 3 | 34 | 11 | 326 | ||||||||
| CALHOUN | 4.6% | 39.6% | 41.1% | 0.9% | 10.4% | 3.4% | |||||||||
| 15 of 15 | 22 | 183 | 186 | 3 | 105 | 31 | 530 | ||||||||
| CARROLL | 4.2% | 34.5% | 35.1% | 0.6% | 19.8% | 5.8% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 47 | 321 | 157 | 5 | 70 | 32 | 632 | ||||||||
| CASS | 7.4% | 50.8% | 24.8% | 0.8% | 11.1% | 5.1% | |||||||||
| 13 of 13 | 90 | 221 | 162 | 8 | 55 | 13 | 549 | ||||||||
| CEDAR | 16.4% | 40.3% | 29.5% | 1.5% | 10.0% | 2.4% | |||||||||
| 31 of 31 | 67 | 569 | 409 | 9 | 205 | 41 | 1300 | ||||||||
| CERRO GORDO | 5.2% | 43.8% | 31.5% | 0.7% | 15.8% | 3.2% | |||||||||
| 21 of 21 | 29 | 196 | 186 | 2 | 49 | 24 | 486 | ||||||||
| CHEROKEE | 6.0% | 40.3% | 38.3% | 0.4% | 10.1% | 4.9% | |||||||||
| 18 of 18 | 28 | 146 | 90 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 302 | ||||||||
| CHICKASAW | 9.3% | 48.3% | 29.8% | 2.6% | 5.6% | 4.3% | |||||||||
| 8 of 8 | 11 | 99 | 58 | 2 | 27 | 4 | 201 | ||||||||
| CLARKE | 5.5% | 49.3% | 28.9% | 1.0% | 13.4% | 2.0% | |||||||||
| . | 22 of 22 | 75 | 284 | 247 | 7 | 58 | 31 | 702 | |||||||
| CLAY | 10.7% | 40.5% | 35.2% | 1.0% | 8.3% | 4.4% | |||||||||
| 25 of 25 | 26 | 210 | 142 | 4 | 52 | 19 | 453 | ||||||||
| CLAYTON | 5.7% | 46.4% | 31.3% | 0.9% | 11.5% | 4.2% | |||||||||
| 34 of 35 | 25 | 477 | 461 | 17 | 136 | 43 | 1159 | ||||||||
| CLINTON | 2.2% | 41.2% | 39.8% | 1.5% | 11.7% | 3.7% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 14 | 145 | 88 | 0 | 48 | 11 | 306 | ||||||||
| CRAWFORD | 4.6% | 47.4% | 28.8% | 0.0% | 15.7% | 3.6% | |||||||||
| 21 of 21 | 59 | 736 | 574 | 21 | 191 | 66 | 1647 | ||||||||
| DALLAS | 3.6% | 44.7% | 34.9% | 1.3% | 11.6% | 4.0% | |||||||||
| 18 of 18 | 11 | 76 | 66 | 2 | 51 | 5 | 211 | ||||||||
| DAVIS | 5.2% | 36.0% | 31.3% | 0.9% | 24.2% | 2.4% | |||||||||
| 21 of 22 | 34 | 160 | 75 | 20 | 42 | 16 | 347 | ||||||||
| DECATUR | 9.8% | 46.1% | 21.6% | 5.8% | 12.1% | 4.6% | |||||||||
| 20 of 20 | 18 | 186 | 164 | 3 | 82 | 11 | 464 | ||||||||
| DELAWARE | 3.9% | 40.1% | 35.3% | 0.6% | 17.7% | 2.4% | |||||||||
| 21 of 21 | 47 | 334 | 328 | 17 | 183 | 54 | 963 | ||||||||
| DES MOINES | 4.9% | 34.7% | 34.1% | 1.8% | 19.0% | 5.6% | |||||||||
| 14 of 14 | 42 | 161 | 106 | 2 | 35 | 25 | 371 | ||||||||
| DICKINSON | 11.3% | 43.4% | 28.6% | 0.5% | 9.4% | 6.7% | |||||||||
| . | 41 of 41 | 141 | 542 | 541 | 19 | 299 | 46 | 1588 | |||||||
| DUBUQUE | 8.9% | 34.1% | 34.1% | 1.2% | 18.8% | 2.9% | |||||||||
| 11 of 11 | 14 | 90 | 52 | 0 | 28 | 12 | 196 | ||||||||
| EMMET | 7.1% | 45.9% | 26.5% | 0.0% | 14.3% | 6.1% | |||||||||
| 28 of 28 | 56 | 286 | 210 | 9 | 80 | 27 | 668 | ||||||||
| FAYETTE | 8.4% | 42.8% | 31.4% | 1.3% | 12.0% | 4.0% | |||||||||
| 13 of 13 | 31 | 136 | 113 | 1 | 40 | 18 | 339 | ||||||||
| FLOYD | 9.1% | 40.1% | 33.3% | 0.3% | 11.8% | 5.3% | |||||||||
| 17 of 17 | 13 | 206 | 130 | 9 | 42 | 18 | 418 | ||||||||
| FRANKLIN | 3.1% | 49.3% | 31.1% | 2.2% | 10.0% | 4.3% | |||||||||
| 13 of 13 | 8 | 116 | 44 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 193 | ||||||||
| FREMONT | 4.1% | 60.1% | 22.8% | 0.0% | 7.3% | 5.7% | |||||||||
| 17 of 17 | 16 | 168 | 162 | 6 | 68 | 16 | 436 | ||||||||
| GREENE | 3.7% | 38.5% | 37.2% | 1.4% | 15.6% | 3.7% | |||||||||
| 7 of 7 | 31 | 216 | 146 | 2 | 61 | 5 | 461 | ||||||||
| GRUNDY | 6.7% | 46.9% | 31.7% | 0.4% | 13.2% | 1.1% | |||||||||
| 17 of 18 | 8 | 173 | 170 | 1 | 34 | 18 | 404 | ||||||||
| GUTHRIE | 2.0% | 42.8% | 42.1% | 0.2% | 8.4% | 4.5% | |||||||||
| 13 of 13 | 31 | 346 | 164 | 4 | 63 | 19 | 627 | ||||||||
| HAMILTON | 4.9% | 55.2% | 26.2% | 0.6% | 10.0% | 3.0% | |||||||||
| . | 10 of 10 | 37 | 171 | 131 | 4 | 85 | 7 | 435 | |||||||
| HANCOCK | 8.5% | 39.3% | 30.1% | 0.9% | 19.5% | 1.6% | |||||||||
| 12 of 12 | 30 | 239 | 397 | 1 | 80 | 26 | 773 | ||||||||
| HARDIN | 3.9% | 30.9% | 51.4% | 0.1% | 10.3% | 3.4% | |||||||||
| 26 of 26 | 36 | 188 | 89 | 3 | 50 | 28 | 394 | ||||||||
| HARRISON | 9.1% | 47.7% | 22.6% | 0.8% | 12.7% | 7.1% | |||||||||
| 19 of 19 | 18 | 195 | 164 | 6 | 83 | 23 | 489 | ||||||||
| HENRY | 3.7% | 39.9% | 33.5% | 1.2% | 17.0% | 4.7% | |||||||||
| 17 of 17 | 15 | 115 | 71 | 5 | 29 | 8 | 243 | ||||||||
| HOWARD | 6.2% | 47.3% | 29.2% | 2.1% | 11.9% | 3.3% | |||||||||
| 17 of 17 | 11 | 105 | 122 | 4 | 39 | 19 | 300 | ||||||||
| HUMBOLDT | 3.7% | 35.0% | 40.7% | 1.3% | 13.0% | 6.3% | |||||||||
| 9 of 10 | 17 | 59 | 139 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 241 | ||||||||
| IDA | 7.1% | 24.5% | 57.7% | 0.4% | 6.6% | 3.7% | |||||||||
| 19 of 19 | 24 | 153 | 150 | 0 | 94 | 19 | 440 | ||||||||
| IOWA | 5.5% | 34.8% | 34.1% | 0.0% | 21.4% | 4.3% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 16 | 172 | 102 | 3 | 44 | 10 | 347 | ||||||||
| JACKSON | 4.6% | 49.6% | 29.4% | 0.9% | 12.7% | 2.9% | |||||||||
| 31 of 31 | 133 | 575 | 511 | 17 | 173 | 42 | 1451 | ||||||||
| JASPER | 9.2% | 39.6% | 35.2% | 1.2% | 11.9% | 2.9% | |||||||||
| . | 12 of 12 | 21 | 179 | 155 | 2 | 153 | 18 | 528 | |||||||
| JEFFERSON | 4.0% | 33.9% | 29.4% | 0.4% | 29.0% | 3.4% | |||||||||
| 52 of 52 | 102 | 1024 | 501 | 75 | 466 | 275 | 2444 | ||||||||
| JOHNSON | 4.2% | 41.9% | 20.5% | 3.1% | 19.1% | 11.3% | |||||||||
| 18 of 18 | 15 | 211 | 174 | 2 | 69 | 16 | 487 | ||||||||
| JONES | 3.1% | 43.3% | 35.7% | 0.4% | 14.2% | 3.3% | |||||||||
| 16 of 16 | 16 | 135 | 140 | 2 | 42 | 4 | 339 | ||||||||
| KEOKUK | 4.7% | 39.8% | 41.3% | 0.6% | 12.4% | 1.2% | |||||||||
| 21 of 21 | 46 | 175 | 136 | 4 | 79 | 16 | 456 | ||||||||
| KOSSUTH | 10.1% | 38.4% | 29.8% | 0.9% | 17.3% | 3.5% | |||||||||
| 22 of 23 | 20 | 207 | 144 | 4 | 61 | 36 | 472 | ||||||||
| LEE | 4.2% | 43.9% | 30.5% | 0.8% | 12.9% | 7.6% | |||||||||
| 77 of 77 | 361 | 1995 | 1380 | 46 | 960 | 330 | 5072 | ||||||||
| LINN | 7.1% | 39.3% | 27.2% | 0.9% | 18.9% | 6.5% | |||||||||
| 7 of 7 | 11 | 121 |