Inside Iowa: Understanding the State’s Partisanship, Religious Affiliation, and Religious Diversity

A new Spotlight Analysis uses PRRI survey data from 2022 as well as county-level religious affiliation data from the 2020 PRRI Census of American Religion to provide key facts about Iowans ahead of Monday’s Republican caucuses. With a median age of 45, adults in Iowa are somewhat evenly distributed across partisan lines; Republicans account for 27% of Iowans. Around 6 in 10 Iowans (61%) are white Christians, and the three counties with the highest concentration of white evangelical Protestants are Sioux County (45%), Lyon County (44%), and Butler County (40%).

Republicans Aren’t Talking to Gen Z Voters. If They Were, They’d Be Tackling These Issues

In an opinion column for USA TODAY, Sara Pequeño argues that with forty-one million young voters eligible to cast a ballot in November, Republican presidential candidates would benefit from talking about the issues that are important to Gen Z. PRRI finds that Gen Z stands out on a range of issues: Americans ages 18 to 29 are the most likely to beconcerned about student debt (29%), the most likely to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (72%), and the second most likely to say that climate change is caused by human activity (67%).

Alexandria Could Rename Some Confederate Streets, but It’s Just Step One

Teo Armus at The Washington Post reports that in Alexandria, Virginia lawmakers are set to vote on a plan to rename four streets, as part of a process aimed at gradually eliminating Confederate symbols from the city. Alexandria currently has at least 41 streets associated with Confederate military officials, and the proposed name changes are already facing some opposition. PRRI finds that Americans are divided in their interpretations of the Confederate flag: 50% see it primarily as a symbol of Southern pride, while 47% see it mostly as a symbol of racism.

Border Negotiations Broaden To Include Afghan Evacuees and Migrant Work Permits

Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Margaret Brennan at CBS Newsreport that ongoing immigration negotiations in the Senate have recently expanded to include adjusting the status of Afghan evacuees and granting work permits to asylum-seekers. While Democrats support these proposals, reaching a final deal will depend on limiting the president’s immigration parole authority, which Biden has used to allow foreigners to enter the country legally. PRRI research finds that Republicans (70%) are notably more likely than independents (50%) and Democrats (34%) to favor passing a law that places stricter limits on the number of legal immigrants coming to the U.S.