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By David Redlawsk, Harkin Institute Mabry Fellow Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and Director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling   Since 1972 for the Democrats, and this year for the Republicans, the Iowa Precinct Caucuses have not really been about voting for presidential candidates. Well they have (and are) but the real goal is to win delegates (ultimately) to the respective national conventions. Precinct Caucuses do NOT elect delegates to the national convention, but they do elect them to the county convention, and the process continues from there through district and state conventions, then to the national convention. The stakes then, are not just the media bump that generally comes from exceeding expectations on caucus night, but also ultimately claiming a share of the delegates Iowa will elect to the national conventions. No one gets nominated to be their party’s standard-bearer without having 50%+1 of all the delegates to the national convention. To be sure, Iowa’s share of those delegates is quite small (see here [GOP | Democrats] for details on every state’s delegate counts) but at least for the Republicans, every delegate may well count given the fractured nature of the field. Historically, there was […]

Keota is a quintessential stereotype of an Iowa town with a population of around 1,000 and a primarily agrarian-based economy, a visit to the town would make any out-of-stater ask, “Is this heaven?” All of Iowa gets lots of attention from presidential candidates prior to the caucuses, but Iowa’s smallest cities are often overlooked in […]

There were less than 24 hours until the last Drake College Republicans meeting of 2015 when I received the information that Ben Carson’s son would be casually stopping by. Since we are from Iowa, I always expect unordinary things to happen at events, but I never would have expected Ben Carson’s son, BJ (Ben Jr.) […]

It’s got to happen sooner or later. So far this election cycle there have pretty some pretty big names who ended their campaigns earlier than expected – Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, and most notably Scott Walker, an early front runner. Looking at naked poll numbers from the latest Des Moines Register poll of voters in […]

Peggy’s Tavern, a favorite college bar on Drake University’s campus, looked a little different Dec. 10 afternoon. Three big letters, J-E-B, brightened the usually shabby exterior. And, of course, the trademark exclamation point. Jeb’s staff and supporters had taken over the bar in full force but the candidate wasn’t the main attraction today – it […]

Iowans- here is your basic breakdown of “what you need to know” about Martin O’Malley’s 2016 campaign in Iowa. The majority of the voting population in both Iowa and the United States assume that on the democratic side of things it’s a race purely between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Unbeknownst to some, there is a third candidate […]

Walking into the Iowa Events Center, I was admittedly apprehensive. I had never attended the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner before and was unsure of exactly what it entailed. All I knew was that it would be massive. Soon after walking in, I was greeted by an Abraham Lincoln. The impersonator, a veteran of […]

In the many months leading up to the caucuses on Feb. 1, presidential candidates frequently flock to Iowa in an effort to hit all corners of the state and get to know its people. Though the candidates attempt to cover their bases in Iowa, Des Moines is the most routinely visited city by presidential contendors […]

The last time I saw Donald Trump was when he pointed at me in a crowd at the Iowa State Fair in August. He then turned around and pointed up at his helicopter, which was giving children rides over the grounds. If that sounds weird and a bit creepy, it’s because it was. Things were not […]

Having the misfortune of missing Donald Trump when he was in Des Moines last week, I attended his campaign’s debate watch Party at Jethro’s BBQ ‘n Bacon Bacon for the fifth Republican debate. I was certainly out of my element, and these are just some of the quirks I noticed throughout the course of the […]