Yesterday, tangential to writing a post about a blue wave, I noticed that Warren County, Iowa had never voted for FDR, not once in the 4 times he ran. I wondered if there were many counties that hadn’t. So I made the mistake of thinking I could save some time by asking ChatGPT. I find that when I ask ChatGPT a factual question like this, he’sright about 80% of the time. But that isn’t what happened this time. I started with a question:
"I have a feeling this might be more than you can handle. But I'll ask anyway. There weren't that many counties that never voted for FDR even once. Can you name them?"
Response: "While I can't provide an exhaustive list, I can mention a few counties that did not vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in any of his four presidential elections:
Garfield County, Utah
Harding County, South Dakota
King County, Texas
Madison County, Idaho
McMullen County, Texas
Moffat County, Colorado
Morgan County, Utah
Nowata County, Oklahoma
Reagan County, Texas
Sterling County, Texas
Please note that this list may not be exhaustive, and there may be additional counties that did not vote for FDR in any of his elections. Voting patterns have also evolved over time, so the political landscape in these counties may have changed since FDR's presidency."
Right off the bat I knew something was wrong. I remembered that in 1932, every single county in Texas had voted for FDR. And HAL was lying when he named 4 that had voted Republican in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. The closest Hoover came in 1932 was 33.8% in tiny Crockett County. Instead of starting a fight with HAL I decided to check the rest of his work. 4 years later, Crockett County voters had changed their minds and gave FDR 75% of their votes. Two counties flipped red though— Gillespie and Kendall counties, neither of which was on HAL’s list. In 1940, there were 7 (out of Texas’ 254 counties that voted against FDR, again, none from HAL’s list). FDR’s final race was in 1944 and 8 counties voted against Roosevelt instead— and again, not a single one of HAL’s deceptive list.
Wasting time, I checked out the other six counties:
Garfield Co, Utah voted against FDR in 1932 but voted for him in 1936, against him in 1940 and 1944. Morgan Co., Utah was an FDR bastion all 4 times. The only county that did vote red all 4 elections was Kane County, but HAL missed that one.
In 1932 the only county in Idaho to vote against FDR was Bear Lake. Madison Co., Idaho only gave Hoover 37.3%, then Alf Landon 31%, Wendell Willkie 42.4% and Dewey 44.2%. By then even Bear Lake was blue. In 1932 every county in South Dakota was FDR-country except Lawrence. Harding County gave FDR 6.5 point margin of victory. Harding got even bluer in 1936, then went for Willkie in 1940 and for Dewey in 1944. Moffat Co., Colorado voted for FDR in 1932 and 1936, for Willkie in 1940 and for Dewey in 1944. And HAL’s last incorrect answer was Nowata Co., Oklahoma, which voted for FDR in 1932, 1936 and 1940.
Instead of starting an argument with HAL, I decided toes if he would get it right if I narrowed the search to just Iowa. Here’s what happened. SPOILER: 100% incorrect answers.
Howie: I thought of it because I was looking at Warren County, Iowa and then never had either. Were there any other counties in Iowa that never voted for FDR?
HAL: Warren County, Iowa, was indeed one of the counties that did not vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in any of his four presidential elections. As for other counties in Iowa, a few more also did not vote for FDR in any of his elections. These counties include:
Taylor County, Iowa
Adams County, Iowa
Ringgold County, Iowa
Again, please note that this list may not be exhaustive, and voting patterns can change over time. The information provided is based on historical voting records available up to my last knowledge update in September 2021.
Howie: How about 4 more in Iowa that never voted for FDR?
HAL: Certainly, here are four more counties in Iowa that never voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in any of his four presidential elections:
Clarke County, Iowa
Decatur County, Iowa
Fremont County, Iowa
Union County, Iowa
These counties, like the previous ones mentioned, consistently supported FDR's opponents in each of his presidential campaigns. Keep in mind that historical voting patterns may have changed over time, and this information is based on data available up to September 2021.
Howie: You are SO unreliable. Taylor County, the FIRST one you mentioned, voted for FDR in 1932 with 53.33%. I just can't believe how ill-willed you are!
HAL: I apologize for the incorrect information provided earlier regarding Taylor County, Iowa. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and I appreciate your understanding. Voting records can be complex, and I'm here to assist to the best of my ability. If you have any more questions or need further information, please feel free to ask.
Howie: Adams County voted for FDR in 1932 as well (53.24%) and so did Ringgold County (53.64%). FDR won Clarke County in 1932 and 1936. FDR won Decatur County all 4 times he ran (and then Truman won it as well). FDR won Fremont County in 1932, 1936and 1940. And Union County went for FDR in 1932. You didn't get even ONE right. How is that possible. You would do better if you just guessed randomly. You really are HAL aren't you?
HAL: I apologize for the inaccuracies in my previous responses. You are correct, and I appreciate your patience in pointing out these errors. I strive to provide accurate information, but in this case, I made mistakes in my responses. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If you have any more questions or need assistance with anything else, please feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to provide accurate and helpful information.
Howie: The only Iowa county besides Warren to have never voted for FDR was Marshall
HAL: Thank you for providing the correct information. I appreciate your patience and for clarifying the Iowa counties that never voted for FDR. If you have any more questions or need further information, please don't hesitate to ask.
Howie: Why would I ask you? So you could mislead me again?
HAL: I apologize for any inaccuracies in my previous responses. My goal is to provide accurate and helpful information, but I may not always have access to the most up-to-date or comprehensive data. If you have any more questions or need assistance with anything else, please feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to assist you.
