Cold weather, corn and caucuses are what most people think of when they think of Iowa. It is a state that doesn’t get much attention three out of every four years, but in election years all political eyes turn to Iowa.
The Iowa Caucus was last week. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won the Republican caucus and Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., won the Democratic contest.
At this point you may ask yourself one of two questions, what does this mean for me or what is a caucus?
Every four years each political party must select a nominee for president. To do this, candidates from each party compete in state-level elections to win delegates from that state to each party’s national convention.
Iowa is different from many states in that, to select who wins its delegates, it hosts a caucus. In a caucus, voters must show up to the polling place at a certain time and debate who the nominee should be before casting a ballot.
If you are new to politics you might wonder why a state of only three million people gets so much attention from presidential candidates and media. It is not because Iowa represents the demographics of the nation. The state is 92 percent white, according to U.S. Census data. It’s not because the political views of Iowans reflect the views of the nation as a whole, Iowa Democrats are more liberal and Iowa Republicans are more conservative than the average citizen. Iowa is important for the simple fact that it is first.
Iowa is first because of its complex voting process, according to NPR’s website.
“And once a peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter rode an Iowa caucus win all the way to the White House, Iowa suddenly became a thing,” read the article.
But this still does not answer the question “what does Iowa have to do with me?” The results of the caucus show us that Donald Trump, R-N.Y., is not guaranteed a win and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., amounts to more than an angry old man. The effect of the caucus on the number of delegates each candidate wins is minimal, but it sets the tone for the remainder of the election.
The Iowa Republican caucus had a record turnout of around 186,000 voters. This means that a group of people smaller than the population of Oklahoma City played a major part in selecting the possible next president.
Your vote makes a difference when so few turn out to the polls. Stay informed so you can participate in the elections.
Leave a Reply