Who won past Republican, Democratic Iowa Caucuses? See 2020, 2016 and earlier results

Des Moines Register staff

Updated January 11, 2024 at 12:45 AM·9 min read

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Since 1972, the road to the White House has begun every four years not along the Capital Beltway or in the country’s most populous cities, but in cities, suburbs and rural towns across Iowa.

For 50 years, Iowans have had the unique privilege of being the first vetters of those who wish to become president of the United States. Winning the state has been a springboard to the presidency for some candidates; underperforming has put serious dents in the chances of others.

And while each caucus cycle brings a mix of newcomers and familiar faces to the Hawkeye State, no two caucuses are the same — each has its highlights, lowlights and plenty of oddities.

While the Iowa Caucuses have a poor record of picking presidents, they play the important role of winnowing the field.

In the history of the modern Iowa Caucuses, only twice has a candidate finished lower than third and gone on to win a party’s nomination (John McCain finished fourth by a whisker in 2008 and Joe Biden finished fourth in 2020). That’s the source of the phrase that presidential candidates have "three tickets out of Iowa."

Since 1972, the top voter-getter in the Democratic caucuses has gone on to win the nomination in seven of 10 contested races, but just Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008 won the presidency. Among Republicans since 1980, the winner of the Iowa Caucuses has gained the nomination in three of eight contested races, but the presidency just once: George W. Bush in 2000.

These interactive graphics present results of the Iowa presidential caucuses since 1972 for Democrats and 1980 for Republicans. They also provide a race overview of the five contested Republican presidential caucuses since 1988, with county-by-county results, and similar information for three contested Democratic caucuses since 2000. County results for earlier races weren’t available.

More: Everything you need to know about the Iowa caucuses ahead of the 2024 presidential race

2020 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Pete Buttigieg; Republican Donald Trump

2020 Democratic caucuses

A massive field of contenders in the 2020 Democratic caucuses yielded similar results to the ones held four years prior: a whisker-thin margin, with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly missing a victory. This time, it was Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who came out on top in state delegate equivalents, by less than a tenth of a percentage point, despite Sanders earning the largest share of the first and final alignments.

The opinions of caucusgoers were fractured, with five candidates — Buttigieg, Sanders, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, and the eventual nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden — all earning at least 10% of the vote.

But arguably the biggest story to come out of these caucuses was the Iowa Democratic Party's difficulties in counting votes. An app used to report results from precincts to the state party malfunctioned, leading to delayed returns. When results were eventually published, the Des Moines Register and others identified apparent errors and discrepancies. A recount, completed more than three weeks after caucus night, confirmed Buttigieg’s narrow lead, but the Associated Press declined to call a winner in the race due to concerns about the accuracy of the results.

2020 Republican caucuses

President Donald Trump carried all 99 counties, seeking a second term. Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, earned one delegate from Iowa, out of 40.

2016 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Hillary Clinton; Republican Ted Cruz

2016 Democratic caucuses

The 2016 Democratic caucuses were tightly contested between U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the presumptive favorite when the race began, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who rode a wave of support into a near tie on caucus night. A third candidate, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, suspended his campaign on caucus night after receiving less than 1% of the delegates awarded.

A year before the caucuses, the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll showed more than half of likely caucusgoers favored Clinton, while Sanders was the first choice of just 5%. But when U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Joe Biden decided to stay out of the race, Sanders gained support while campaigning on a platform against economic injustice.

By caucus night, Sanders had closed the gap, and for a second consecutive caucus cycle, caucus night produced a razor-thin margin — this time among Democrats. At 2:30 a.m., the Iowa Democratic Party announced that Clinton had narrowly defeated Sanders. Her final margin of victory was 0.2 percentage points.

2016 Republican caucuses

A field of 12 Republican candidates on the ballot included previous winners former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and former U.S. Rep. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Also running were up-and-coming U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, and political outsiders such as neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

It was Donald Trump who drew the most attention, leading in national polls prior to caucus night en route to an eventual victory in November’s general election. But Iowa bucked the national trend, handing victory to Cruz instead, buoyed by support from evangelical conservatives.

After a caucus night that smashed Republican turnout records in Iowa, Cruz defeated Trump by three percentage points in Iowa, earning eight delegates to Trump’s seven. Rubio also earned seven delegates.

2012 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Barack Obama; Republican Rick Santorum

2012 Democratic caucuses

President Barack Obama ran unopposed for a second term.

2012 Republican caucuses

In a roller-coaster campaign, virtually every candidate still standing on caucus night had led Iowa polling sometime during the race.

Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, never had a comfortable lead, but he remained in the top tier of polling throughout the race, while rivals battled it out for the social conservative vote.

Two prominent candidates didn’t make it to the caucuses: Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out after a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll. Business executive Herman Cain suspended his campaign amid accusations of sexual harassment and an affair.

Discrepancies over vote counts marred the results. Romney was declared the winner on caucus night with an 8-vote advantage. Two weeks later, the victory officially went to former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, by 34 votes.

2008 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Barack Obama; Republican Mike Huckabee

2008 Democratic caucuses

Six prominent Democrats campaigned heavily across Iowa, including U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

But three other candidates in the star-studded field garnered the most attention: U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the former first lady; former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the vice presidential nominee in 2004; and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Clinton led most Iowa and national polling in the summer and fall of 2007, but fought perceptions of inevitability. Obama surged past her with a message of hope and change that resonated with young voters and first-time caucusgoers. The estimated 240,000 caucusgoers smashed previous turnout records.

2008 Republican caucuses

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rode a populist message and support from Christian conservatives to victory. His win reinforced the caucuses' reputation for giving outsider candidates a chance to gain national attention. Huckabee's victory spelled trouble for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the one-time front-runner. Severe money problems had forced U.S. Sen. John McCain, the eventual nominee, to nearly abandon Iowa months earlier.

2004 Iowa caucus results

Winners: Democrat John Kerry; Republican George W. Bush

2004 Democratic caucuses

Competing to run against incumbent President George W. Bush, candidates focused on health care, the Iraq war and tax cuts the president had implemented.

The race was viewed as a close competition among a pack of four candidates: former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, U.S. Sen. John Edwards, former U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt and U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Initially, the more liberal Dean soared to the lead, but, in the end, he dropped to third. Kerry won, and Edwards finished a surprising second. Both were viewed as more electable than Dean.

2004 Republican caucuses

President George W. Bush ran unopposed for a second term.

2000 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Al Gore; Republican George W. Bush

2000 Democratic caucuses

The 2000 Democratic caucus race ultimately did not prove much of a challenge for the presumptive nominee, Vice President Al Gore. Only one opponent, former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, was still standing on caucus night.

Health care proved a divisive issue — Bradley touted a progressive $65 billion plan to cover 95% of Americans, while Gore more modestly presented a $15 billion plan aimed at covering all children and one-third of the uninsured. On several other issues, Bradley was seen as the more progressive choice to Gore.

The vice president also suffered in some voters’ eyes because of his association with President Bill Clinton, whose second term was tainted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal and subsequent impeachment vote. But in the end, Gore won handily on caucus night.

2000 Republican caucuses

Texas Gov. George W. Bush bested his challengers to cement his front-runner standing. Bush led the field for months, capturing the Iowa Straw Poll in August and racking up the largest victory in a contested Republican Iowa caucus.

Still, publisher Steve Forbes made the race tighter than expected, and commentator Alan Keyes won a surprising 14% for third. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona bypassed Iowa.

1996 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Bill Clinton; Republican Bob Dole

1996 Democratic caucuses

President Bill Clinton ran unopposed for a second term.

1996 Republican caucuses

U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas was the early front-runner but won a narrow victory.

The caucuses played their traditional role of narrowing the field of candidates. Only the top three finishers in Iowa — Dole, commentator Patrick Buchanan and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander — were viable contenders in New Hampshire.

1992 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Tom Harkin; Republican George H.W. Bush

1992 Democratic caucuses

Democratic candidates for president largely avoided the state as U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa mounted his own campaign for the office.

1992 Republican caucuses

President George H. W. Bush ran unopposed for a second term.

1988 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Richard Gephardt; Republican Bob Dole

1988 Democratic caucuses

1988 Republican caucuses

1984 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Walter Mondale; Republican Ronald Reagan

1984 Democratic caucuses

1984 Republican caucuses

President Ronald Reagan ran unopposed for a second term.

1980 Iowa Caucus results

Winners: Democrat Jimmy Carter; Republican George H. W. Bush

1980 Democratic caucuses

1980 Republican caucuses

1976 Iowa Caucus results

Democratic winner: Uncommitted

1976 Iowa Democratic caucuses

1972 Iowa Caucus results