The Picture from Iowa, 2012: The Bachmann Versus Pawlenty Voter

With another Iowa marathon come those perennial questions: How representative is Iowa, and why should the Hawkeye Buckeye State have the first shot at shaping the presidential field? Photographer Brendan Hoffman is in Iowa leading up to the Ames Straw Poll on August 13th. We’ll be following him and looking at what his photos suggest about the candidates, Campaign ’12 and the current political climate.

In the meantime, some specific questions: How representative are these photos? do you think the similarity is just random? and, do you sense any difference between the Bachmann and the Pawlenty voter?

PHOTOGRAPHS by Brendan Hoffman/Prime Collective — Campaign Tumblr Site.

Follow all the posts in this series at: The Picture from Iowa, 2012.

(caption 1: Attendees at a town hall meeting held by Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann on Saturday, July 23, 2011 in Marshalltown, IA. caption 2: A man listens to Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty at a campaign stop on Thursday, July 21, 2011 in Webster City, IA.)