Problem is before '92, Iowa was often waaaaaay out of sinc with the rest of the country (used to be a fairly solid GOP state prior to '88, when it voted strongly for Dukakis 'cos of the farm crisis)
‘88 actually did spoil the record of Montana’s Blaine County, which since its formation in 1916 would remain a perfect bellwether without that farm crisis election. People would overlook naturally a county in a remote region on the Canadian border, but to have voted for the winner in ever election but one over a century is a remarkable record. Another Canadian border county, Coös in New Hampshire, has a similar record since 1892, supporting a losing candidate only in 1968 and 2004 (were those due to unpopular wars that have no appeal to those living on the Canadian border far from military instalments?)
