What is So Unique about the Iowa Caucuses in Des Moines?
The Iowa caucuses are political party meetings that happen in the state of Iowa where members of the democratic and republican parties select delegates who vote for nominees that will contest the presidential election. The first caucus in Iowa was held in 1972 which was a democratic caucus. Iowa was the first state in the United States to hold a caucus. The republican caucus was held in Iowa four years later. The caucuses are held every two years but the most significant are the presidential preference caucuses that are held before the presidential elections take place. These are held every four years. The caucuses are not really polls but are considered election gatherings. They are held in churches, schools, public libraries and even private residences.For the presidential nominations the caucuses are used to choose delegates to go to county, district, state conventions and eventually the national convention. The delegates therefore give an indirect picture of which presidential candidate the state supports. The caucuses indicate how well a candidate is bound to perform nationally.
They have had a huge success rate over the years since they started in 1972. Since the beginning, the democrat Iowa caucuses have had a success rate of 43% while the republican Iowa caucuses have had a success rate of 50% at predicting which democrat or republican will win in the national nominations of their political parties.
Democrat Vs Republican Caucuses process The democratic and republican Iowa Caucuses have different processes. The democratic caucus system is quite complex. The attendees to the meeting indicate preference for a candidate by standing at designated sites in the meeting room. Those who are not decided stand at the “uncommitted” or undecided group. For a group to be considered viable then it must be at least 15% of the attendees.
The officials count the votes and determine viability and before the second tallying is done. Anyone in a group that is not viable may realign with a candidate that has met the threshold. This can help candidates who had met the viable threshold in the first round. b
In the democratic caucus those who win in the first round may not become the overall winners at the end of the day due to these realignments. At the democratic caucuses therefore there are no secret ballots. Check out the World Food prize in Des Moines, IA here.
The republican process is the simpler one. The representatives of the candidates are given a chance to make a final pitch for their candidates to woe those who are still undecided to their camp. After that the delegates vote through way of a secret ballot. The votes are then counted by the officials and sent to the Iowa GOP headquarters.
Some of the democrats who have won the Iowa caucuses and the national party nomination include; Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barrack Obama and Hilary Clinton. The republicans who have won the Iowa caucuses and eventually the national party nominations include; George W. Bush, Ronald Regan and Donald Trump.
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