Likely Iowa Caucus Goers Are Educated, Religious

Likely Iowa Republican caucus goers are a highly educated bunch who are not wildly out of step with the rest of America in their religious profile.

That’s the stereotype-bucking picture that emerges of those who will get the nation’s first crack at narrowing the Republican presidential field early next year, based on demographic statistics gleaned from a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll taken June 19 to 22 and four Iowa Polls from the 2008 caucus cycle.

Here’s what you might not know about this group:

- About half have a college degree or higher. That’s more than Iowa adults or Americans in general.

- The proportion who consider themselves born-again Christians hits in the high-40 percent range, slightly above the range for the nation.

- Mirroring the national picture, they’re more likely to be male, evidence of the classic gender gap between Republican and Democratic voters.

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