Welcome to the caucus circus
- 3 Jan 08, 05:52 PM
The State of Iowa cherishes its 鈥渇irst in the nation status鈥 - it gets to start choosing the candidates who will eventually run for president before anyone else gets a look in.
Over recent years other states have tried to leapfrog Iowa and sneak into the process before them, but the Iowans are a jealous lot and have moved their caucus to the first week of the year. So there.
The first thing to say about the Iowa caucuses is that they are caucuses. It may seem obvious but it鈥檚 worth pointing out. The difference between a caucus and the primaries that most states favour is that to take part in a caucus you have to take part in person 鈥 you have to devote a whole evening to the process.
It works like this: In 1,700 precincts in the 99 counties of Iowa voters meet in groups - Democrats with Democrats, Republicans with Republicans. They then chat about the issues and the state of the nation before declaring their preferences.
The two parties do things slightly differently. For the Democrats this means literally standing up under a banner representing the candidate of their choice. If any of the candidates don鈥檛 manage to get 15% of the assembled company, their supporters have to move to their second choice candidate.
For the Republicans it鈥檚 a straight straw poll - a show of hands. In both cases it鈥檚 a public act, no secret ballot here. You have to declare your support on the record and in front of your neighbours.
The results of the caucuses determine how many delegates each candidate gets for the party conventions in the summer. It鈥檚 these delegates from all the states who decide who will be ultimately become each parties鈥 nominee.
If you are still confused 鈥 watch this .
So what does all this mean for the process?
1. The weather
It鈥檚 freezing here 鈥 if you want to get support you have to get your people to leave their warm houses and devote a whole evening to backing you, you must get them excited. Plus they have to do it in front of their neighbours.
2. Big teams
You need a big team behind you because all the caucuses take place simultaneously across this huge state (six hours drive side to side) you have to have a big co-ordinated team running things. In Britain your team can travel from polling station to polling station over the course of the whole day. That won鈥檛 work in Iowa. This should favour Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the Democrats side and Mitt Romney on the Republican side. Each has massive expensive experienced teams behind them.
3. Support
For the Democrats the redistribution of support from the less popular candidates could be crucial.
4. Rewards
Only 10% of Iowa鈥檚 registered voters take part in the process. There are big rewards for any candidate who can persuade large numbers of first-time caucus-goers to turn out (this is the heart of the Obama strategy)
5. Giving it a miss
Some candidates have given Iowa a miss, and aren鈥檛 campaigning here. (John McCain and Rudy Giuliani on Republican side are doing this - their respective brands of politics are not so popular here.) This used to be considered a big gamble because a victory in Iowa gives a campaign precious momentum. Now though the caucus/primary calendar is so condensed that a win in Iowa may not be the prize it once was.
The next day the circus moves on.
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I think I understand a little more now- it's really a bizarre process, and it also seems strange to see so many people taking part in a democratic process as complicated and involved as this- it just doesn't happen here!
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Shame they're not as 'democratic' when on their Crusades...
Operah for Vice President :o)
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Don't forget there's still a war in Afghanistan. A war that is important and which has historical consequences perhaps at least as major as Iraq. Furthermore, since we pay no attention to Afghanistan anymore we forget that the Democracy is weakening and that the Taliban is slowly regaining power.
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This has certainly helped me to understand what a caucus is but I am still not clear what a primary is in comparison.
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Caroline,
A primary is an election within a party to determine which candidate that state's party delegates will support at the national convention, where the party's national candidate will be determined.
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ed
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Caroline,
A primary is an election within a party (within a State, say Florida)) to determine which candidate that state's party delegates will support at the national convention, where the party's national candidate will be determined.
A bit like if in a UK constituency, the Tory (or any party) prospective candidate was determined by a ballot in which all voters registered as Tory Party members were eligible to vote.
In some states, all registered voters can vote for the prospective candidates, regardless whether they (the voters) are registered as to party affiliation.
Voter registration does not usually require that one identify party affiliation, but in most states, only voters registered as, say, Republicans, can vote for Republican hopefuls.
Primaries often also determine party candidates for other offices (e.g. State Governor, Attorney General, etc.) as well as National (e.g. President) office
xx
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P.S. Wikipedia does it better than I:
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Caroline,
A primary is an election within a party (within a State, say Florida)) to determine which candidate that state's party delegates will support at the national convention, where the party's national candidate will be determined.
A bit like if in a UK constituency, the Tory (or any party) prospective candidate was determined by a ballot in which all voters registered as Tory Party members were eligible to vote.
In some states, all registered voters can vote for the prospective candidates, regardless whether they (the voters) are registered as to party affiliation.
Voter registration does not usually require that one identify party affiliation, but in most states, only voters registered as, say, Republicans, can vote for Republican hopefuls.
Primaries often also determine party candidates for other offices (e.g. State Governor, Attorney General, etc.) as well as National (e.g. President) office
xx
ed
P.S. Wikipedia does it better than I:
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