akashic
1876–2024
State House District 85·Iowa

Iowa 85th State House District has voted Democratic in sixteen straight presidential cycles.

One of Iowa's most lopsided presidential margins in 2024

1876 — 2024·38 elections
IA
Latest
D+38
in 2024
Archetype
Democratic loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
29,145
2024 ACS

Iowa 85th State House District, Iowa: Democratic loyalist district. In 2024, voted D+38%. Democratic peak: D+43 in 2020.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+38MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
Population
29,1452024 5-year
Median household income
$74,9352024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
76.4%2024 5-year
Black
7.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
6.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+43 in 2020MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+16 in 1952MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
1 counties · 1 D · 0 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+37.8%
10,9494,85416,121
D
+43.2%
11,0114,26615,602
D
+37.6%
9,3403,91614,416
D
+35.5%
9,4274,40914,137
D
+41.5%
9,4943,85813,578
D
+29.3%
7,7864,22612,164
D
+25.2%
5,8003,3309,818
D
+31.7%
5,1892,4948,509
D
+28.2%
5,3322,6139,633
D
+29.8%
5,3512,8758,307
D
+16.3%
4,8383,4758,381
D
+15.1%
3,7442,5388,000
D
+10.6%
3,7602,9947,203
D
+16.8%
3,8932,7586,742
D
+8.3%
2,5202,1184,827
D
+36.4%
2,7381,2764,022
R
−1.7%
1,9652,0334,002
R
−12.6%
1,6312,1023,735
R
−16.4%
1,5012,0903,600
D
+9.0%
1,6021,3283,033
D
+13.7%
1,5691,1902,772
D
+11.1%
1,6781,3413,029
D
+21.5%
1,6361,0472,743
D
+22.7%
1,6311,0202,695
R
−0.7%
1,3361,3562,698
R
−9.1%
8501,0682,399
R
−6.1%
9361,0602,032
D
+14.8%
6795031,191
D
+28.6%
6193061,095
D
+9.1%
6175131,144
D
+2.0%
5745511,142
D
+2.7%
5925601,164
D
+4.3%
5905411,151
D
+18.9%
6004051,030
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.0%
Irish
14.5%
English
11.8%
Italian
3.1%
American
2.9%
Polish
2.2%
Scottish
1.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 31.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.5%
85+
1.0%
1.7%
75–84
2.1%
3.8%
65–74
4.2%
4.7%
55–64
4.8%
5.0%
45–54
4.8%
6.5%
35–44
6.0%
7.7%
25–34
7.1%
10.0%
18–24
10.8%
7.1%
5–17
6.9%
2.8%
<5
2.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$74,935
State House District 85 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State House District 85$74,935
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
17.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.1%
Working age (18–64)19.5%
Seniors (65+)5.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.3%
speak English only
Spanish4.3%
Other Indo-European3.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.6%
Other languages3.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
11.8%
Mainline Protestant
5.7%
Other Christian
4.4%
Methodist
3.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.0%
Non-Christian
1.7%
Baptist
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 70.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With a 41.7-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, this rural Iowa district ranks among the state's most heavily one-sided constituencies, reflecting the sharp partisan realignment that has reshaped small-town and agricultural communities over the past decade.

The Democratic margin in Iowa 85th State House District reached its widest at forty-three points in 2020. The margin in 2024 was thirty-eight points — still decisive.

Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $74,935, a 76% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 29,145 together describe a district whose political habits are deeply settled.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State House District 85, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/19085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State House District 85, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 85, Iowa voted Democratic by 37.8 points (D+38), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 16,121 votes cast, 10,949 went Democratic and 4,854 went Republican.
What is State House District 85, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 85, Iowa as a "Democratic loyalist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 28 times, Republican 6 times, and other 0 times.
When did State House District 85, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 85, Iowa voted Republican was 1960.
How many people live in State House District 85, Iowa?
State House District 85, Iowa has a population of 29,145 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 85, Iowa?
Median household income in State House District 85, Iowa is $74,935 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of State House District 85, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 85, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 28 went Democratic and 6 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.