Iowa Caucus Turnout, 2000–2008 2000 60 760 87 666 2004 124 000 uncontested (George W. Bush) 2008 221 000 116 114

Some of the numbers above are approximate, but the trend is clear: a huge increase in Democratic caucus participants (78% more than in 2004, and 90% more Democrats than Republicans this year). My understanding is that the Democratic caucuses also require more time and involvement than the Republican ones. All of this adds up to a lot of enthusiastic Democrats — at least in Iowa.

Here's what that looks like if you break down each bar according to the proportion of support that each candidate received.

Iowa Caucus Vote Distribution, 2000–2008 2000 Bradl Gore Bush Forbes Ke B 2004 Ge Dean Edwards Kerry uncontested (George W. Bush) 2008 Clinton Edwards Obama Huckabee Romney Tho Mc Pa

What do you think this means for the election as a whole? Is this phenomenon local to Iowa, or is it a sign of things to come?

Sources: MSNBC, AP, CNN, Eric Appleman.