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Donald Trump's victory in the Iowa caucuses opens the electoral cycle of the Republican primaries in the United States. Iowa has always been considered an important state, despite having a very small population, and its peculiar votes, through the so-called caucuses or neighborhood meetings, have always attracted media attention to this process.
On January 15, 2024, the presidential race for the White House began and it did so, as is traditional, with the Iowa caucuses. Primary elections that this year will be key, especially in the Republican Party, where the favorite to fight to recover The Presidency is Donald Trump, although other major candidates such as Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley want to challenge him for control of the party. But why is so much importance given to these elections in Iowa? And, what is the caucus system used?
The primary election system in the United States is a voting method that is not that old. In fact, until the middle of the 20th century, it was the parties themselves who chose their presidential candidates behind closed doors.
This began to change after the nomination of John F. Kennedy, when the Democratic Party found itself unable to ignore the great popularity that this young figure had in many states and began to organize primary voting. A method that became popular thanks to the television and media spectacle that it involved.
Iowa began voting in 1972 for the Democratic Party and in 1976 for the Republican Party. But this state is not one of the most relevant numerically. Located in the American Midwest, it has a strong rural character and barely has 3 million inhabitants who elect only 1% of the national delegates. So where does this media attention come from?
Iowa, a first primary date with a peculiar voting system
The answer is basically in the calendar. When the primaries were set, Iowa requested more time than other states to organize its delegates for the national party conventions, where the candidate is chosen. That is why Iowa began to be the first vote and as such it is the first litmus test for the candidates.
From Iowa the possibilities of each one begin to be glimpsedwhich is why a strong start in Iowa can be synonymous with gaining attention and eventually winning at the convention, where the presidential candidate of each party is finally chosen.
But these votes are not only important because of the calendar, their voting system is also striking. The Iowa election is not a conventional primary vote, like most states have. It is done through caucuses. And what are caucuses? Basically, neighborhood meetings of members of each party, in which delegates are elected.
The caucuses designated in each electoral district are held in churches, schools or even private homes, where attendees give speeches to convince other members of their vote. In total, Iowa gives 40 delegates distributed proportionally based on the votes of the caucuses, a figure that is not very representative compared to the almost 2,500 total Republican delegates.
Some candidates who promoted their candidacy after Iowa
Yoowa can boost less popular candidates until that moment in the electoral race, although it is not always synonymous with final victory, since this state does not reflect American ethnic and cultural diversity and is very homogeneous. Among the historic victories in the Republican Party is that of former candidate Bob Dole in 1996, who later tried to face Bill Clinton in the presidential election. Although it failed and the Democrat achieved re-election.
Also key was the surprise victory of George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, over John McCain in the Iowa caucuses ahead of the 2000 elections. His victory propelled him to lead the Republican Party and, later, reach the House. White for eight years.
Among the elections that are made, Iowa always tends to choose the candidates who have the most relationship with the evangelical church since many of these caucuses are organized in these religious centers.
Although, as mentioned, your choice is not always so decisive. For example, in 2016, Donald Trump lost in Iowa decisively against challenger Ted Cruz. However, the results were later reversed in other states and Donald Trump faced Hillary Clinton for the White House, emerging victorious.
In the Democratic case it has been equally important. An example was Barack Obama, who went from being a total unknown to the figure of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries to then surprisingly win in Iowa and accumulate enough popularity to win at the Democratic Convention.
This year's Democratic primaries won't generate as much interest since, barring any surprise, the candidate for re-election will be the current president of the country, Joe Biden. However, the Democratic ranks are betting that their primaries will no longer open in Iowa, something that would be a real novelty and that has not gone down very well among the Democrats of this state who want to protect the great popularity that these votes give them. .
The Democratic arguments are the lack of diversity in Iowa, which is why they are betting that their primaries, from now on, begin in South Carolina. A larger, multicultural state.
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