The Democratic Convention in Chicago where frustration with a system controlled from the top down resulted in conflict in the convention hall and riots in the streets. Chicago was the proverbial last straw, and the breakdown ensured there would be national reforms in the Democratic Party. Larsen : "It was just terrible.
We were all committed; this was never going to happen again. Caucus Leader : "So when the Senator McGovern people come over here in this corner, these people will have to move out. When the caucuses were held, Iowa's reforms were in place, reforms that radically changed presidential politics in the state. For starters, mandatory proportional representation for candidates replaced the winner-takes-all option. That may have been more fair.
Equally important, it gave the press the kind of numbers it needs to call a horse race. In addition, the reforms dictated that the caucuses be held very early. District conventions were held separately from the state convention, adding another step to the process. And the party assured that what happened at the grassroots level, from delegate selection to the party platform, made it to the next level: that is, from precinct caucus to county, district, and state conventions.
That meant time was needed for meetings and sending masses of printed material to thousands of people involved in the process. The exceptions were Bill Clinton, who placed fourth in , and John McCain, who came in fourth in Tom Harkin was the overwhelming caucus favorite, so the other Democratic contenders mostly ignored the state. And McCain was just votes behind third-place finisher Fred Thompson. Not as many as used to. This year, besides Iowa, only two other states Nevada and Wyoming and four U.
In , the national Democratic Party adopted a package of changes to its nominating process, including a rule encouraging state parties to use government-run primaries whenever possible. Caucuses have been on the decline for a long time. On the Democratic side in , 33 states and territories used them to pick convention delegates, and, as late as , 32 still did.
By , however, only 14 states and four territories were still using them. As a side note, the Republican and Democratic parties in each state can, and often have, choose different methods to select their convention delegates, with one party holding a primary and the other a caucus. That changed after the national Democratic Party revamped its nominating process in the wake of its chaotic convention. As a consequence of those changes, the Iowa party moved its precinct caucuses — which typically had been held in late March or early April — to Jan.
In , George McGovern campaigned in Iowa to raise his profile ahead of the New Hampshire primary; even though McGovern came in third in Iowa, he ultimately won the nomination.
In , the Republican and Democratic parties agreed to hold their caucuses on the same day, and both attracted substantial attention from candidates and the media. Since then, the state has zealously defended its first-in-the-nation status. But the legislation ignores laws on the books in Iowa and New Hampshire that require the states to hold the first caucus and first primary respectively and that give wide latitude to state leaders to set their dates accordingly.
And he said other threats to Iowa's caucuses have yet to materialize on the Republican side. More: Iowa GOP forms alliance with other carve-out states to preserve presidential nominating calendar. In fact, I fully expect that I'm going to have to explain myself and explain the state and explain the justification. I feel very, very comfortable building on the last two caucuses. In fact, to be honest with you, I look forward to doing that.
Even if the national party were to make changes, he and others say there is very little likelihood Iowa's Republican governor and Republican-controlled Legislature would move to change the state law. Kaufmann said he sought another term as Republican Party of Iowa chairman in January in part because he felt compelled to help protect the caucuses.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann dmreg. Follow her on Twitter at brianneDMR.
Facebook Twitter Email. Iowa has 1, precinct caucuses plus nearly "satellite" caucuses for Iowans scattered around the country, along with some taking place internationally. After the second phase is done, support for each candidate is tallied again. The number of delegates each candidate receives is ultimately based on the number of supporters each candidate has once the nonviable contenders are eliminated.
The Iowa caucus is important because it is the first time that voters around the country see how the candidates fare in a real contest, rather than just in polling averages. But the state's voters do tend to pick the same candidate who eventually wins the Democratic nomination.
In fact, the last Democrat to win the Iowa caucus but lose the nomination was an Iowan: Sen. Tom Harkin, who won the caucus in after his rivals did not seriously contest it. Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, eventually won the party nomination while Harkin dropped out in March. Iowa is not as predictive of the eventual president or of Republican nominees. Only former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Obama have won the presidency after winning the Iowa caucus in cycles dating to
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