Iowa's Primary Highlights Increased Political Engagement

The recipient of a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from the University of Wisconsin, Craig Schoenfeld is a Clive, Iowa-based political strategist who serves as president at CR3connect. In this role, Craig Schoenfeld leverages more than 15 years of experience in Iowa politics to lead lobbying efforts and direct political campaigns.

Iowa's primary election took place in early June and featured several promising signs for increased political engagement in the state. Approximately 522,207 ballots were cast, which broke the previous record of 449,490 established in 1994. This represented a 24 percent voter turnout and was in large part due to a substantial surge in mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

In addition to a high voter turnout, the primary is noteworthy due to its female presence. Women are running against each other as Democratic and Republican candidates in three of the state's five congressional races, while only one of those five races is without a woman candidate. Of the 150 seats in the state's legislature, only 44 are occupied by women.