Iowa Caucus History: The Power of Being First

Iowa Caucus History: The Power of Being First
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff


Political officials in a number of states argue that Iowa should not get to automatically stage the kickoff event of the presidential nominating process every four years. Critics say that Iowa — which has a population that ranks 30th among the 50 states and is 93 percent non-Hispanic white — is too small and is not diverse enough to play the outsized role that it has in presidential nominating races for more than three decades.

But Iowa, while it may be as big or demographically representative as many states, has a crucial advantage that has kept it planted at the very front of the primary and caucus calendar: It got there first.

The decision by Iowa officials to move their 1972 caucuses up ahead of the traditional first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary came just as reforms by the major parties were kicking in — opening the nominating process to more rank-and-file voters in caucuses and primaries, and diminishing the lock that party bosses had held in choosing their nominees at their national conventions. Iowa’s status as a key proving ground for White House hopefuls was quickly enshrined by the stronger-than-expected Iowa performances by two Democratic longshots, South Dakota Sen. George McGovern in 1972 and former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in 1976, both of whom went on to win the party’s nomination.

Iowans ever since have zealously protected the first-in-the-nation status of its precinct caucuses — and have been effectively shielded in that effort by national party leaders — though they have had to go to extremes in the face of escalating challenges and complaints from other states. This year’s precinct caucuses are being held on the earliest-ever date of Jan. 3, breaking the state’s previous record by 16 days. And the Thursday caucuses are just five days before New Hampshire’s similarly earliest-ever Jan. 8 primary, breaking a pattern in which the Iowa contests were held on a Monday eight days before the New Hampshire primary.

The following thumbnail sketches of the Iowa caucuses since 1972 identify the major players and who won — in both the actual vote counts and in the post-caucus political “spin” game. The history and reputation of the Iowa precinct caucuses show that the “winners” often are those candidates who exceed expectations, even if they don’t receive the greatest number of votes.

The two major parties calculate and report the Iowa caucus results in different manners. Democratic vote totals are weighted to reflect an estimate of what each candidate’s delegate strength will be at the state party convention, which ends the state’s multi-tiered selection process and is held months after the precinct caucuses. The Republican results are more straightforward, reflecting the votes each candidate received in a nonbinding straw poll that preceded delegate selection on caucus night. For more information about how Iowa Democrats and Republicans run their precinct caucuses and report results, please click here.

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In order to give the candidates 5 days before Christmas to ask Santa for a win in New Hampshire's primaries!

LoL

So few Iowans go that several busloads of out-of-state students could sway the whole deal.