Iowa 78th State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Lyndon B. Johnson1964
75.3%
6,424 votes · D+50.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 71.6%
Republican
Warren G. Harding1920
60.8%
1,910 votes · R+24.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Herbert Hoover, 1928 · 56.4%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2012
10,983votes
69.3% of the vote · D+40.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 10,920 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
4,805votes
32.7% of the vote · D+32.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 4,774 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Michael Dukakis1988
+45.1pts D vs U.S.
Place D+37.4 · U.S. R+7.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · George McGovern, 1972 · +41.2 pts
Republican
Calvin Coolidge1924
+4.1pts R vs U.S.
Place R+29.2 · U.S. R+25.2 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Warren G. Harding, 1920 · −1.3 pts
current representation
Current officeholders
DAngel RamirezState House · 78
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
U.S. House elections · 3 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year
Vote lead
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
52.2%8,603
47.8%7,888
16,491
2020
D
55.2%9,646
44.8%7,818
17,464
2018
D
58.6%8,023
41.4%5,662
13,685
Anchored in a dense urban core, this district recorded a 32.5-point Democratic presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most lopsided legislative constituencies and reflecting the concentration of younger, college-educated voters typical of Iowa's urban precincts.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 50.7 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 29.2 points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 5.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 32.5 points.
A population of 31,973, a 74% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,198 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 79 and State House District 74.
Akashic
Political twins — state-house districts
The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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 → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Iowa 78th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/19078/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did Iowa 78th State House District vote in 2024?
In 2024, Iowa 78th State House District voted Democratic by 32.5 points (D+32.5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 14,700 votes cast, 9,582 went Democratic and 4,805 went Republican.
When did Iowa 78th State House District last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Iowa 78th State House District voted Republican was 1928.
How many people live in Iowa 78th State House District?
Iowa 78th State House District has a population of 31,973 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Iowa 78th State House District?
Median household income in Iowa 78th State House District is $64,198 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Iowa 78th State House District?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Iowa 78th State House District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 34 went Democratic and 4 went Republican.