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Dejear Struggles To Gain Traction Among Rural Iowans

Deidre DeJear, seen here in a 2018 file photo, is a Democratic candidate for governor who backs the Iowa caucuses.
Clay Masters
/
Iowa Public Radio
Deidre DeJear, seen here in a 2018 file photo, is a Democratic candidate for governor who backs the Iowa caucuses.

The state of Iowa was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad in 2008 to become the nation’s first Black president. Today, voters in the overwhelmingly white state aren’t showing a similar embrace for the woman running to become its first Black governor. Democrat Deirdre DeJear is finding Iowa a much changed place, trending staunchly conservative and endorsing many aspects of Trumpism. Educated younger adults who were once reliable Democratic voters have fled rural Iowa, and the strength of organized labor has eroded. DeJear tells The Associated Press there is a question of whether a Black woman can win Iowa's governorship.