Iowa’s First-in-the-Nation Status in Jeopardy – By Susan Milligan (US News) / April 15, 2022
The Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to open up the calendar for nominating contests – likely ending the state’s half-century status as first in the nation.
A jeans-clad presidential hopeful stands inside a barn, with feet just starting to thaw after a treacherous journey over icy, rural roads. Locals ask detailed questions about a wide range of issues, and while they are often brutally frank about what they think is going wrong in public policy, they aren’t swayed by the most famous face or the biggest campaign chest. A big crowd might mean nothing, since voters are there to evaluate and not necessarily to show support.
After weeks or months of such high-stakes interviews, voters will attend hours-long, in-person gatherings across the state and talk, making their choices and having second ballots if necessary.
Those are the Iowa caucuses, which presidential candidates and political operatives describe as both romantic and frustrating, at once a playing field that offers equal opportunity to the known and unknown, while also being a contest for votes from an electorate that doesn’t remotely reflect the demographic makeup of the country as a whole.
