The Lay of the Land

On the eve before my departure, I thought it might be useful to describe the fertile ground into which I will parachute tomorrow.

Scott County is the 3rd largest of Iowa's 99 counties with 163,000 residents. Scott County is home to both of Iowa's members of the Quad Cities -- Davenport (pop. 97,500) and Bettendorf (pop. 31,500). Median household income in the county is $47,000, median home value is $92,400, and 12% of the population lives below the poverty line. Of those over age 25, 86% hold a HS Diploma, and 25% have a bachelor's degree.

The county has 107,500 registered voters. The Democrats and Republicans each claim 28% of the registered voters, and the remaining 44% are not affiliated with a party. In the 2004 presidential election, turnout was 76%, and John Kerry carried the county 51 to 49.

There are 63 voting precincts in the county. The City of Davenport is home to half (32) of these, of which George W. Bush carried just 5 in 2004. However, George W. Bush carried 28 of the 31 (90%) of the precincts outside of Davenport including 10 of 11 in Bettendorf.

A quick snapshot would say that Scott County represents a typical slice of America -- a population center that skews Democratic, surrounding suburbs and rural areas that lean Republican, and a lot of independents that can go either direction.