In less than a month, the state of Iowa will be the first to determine who the nominees for president should be. Both the Democrat and Republican caucuses will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3 in 1,784 precincts throughout the state.
Many people don’t know how a caucus works and the following will help better explain how each party chooses a presidential candidate.
The Democratic caucuses have people divided into groups of the candidate they support. Those undecided voters can go to the undecided group. The people will have about a half hour to decide who they prefer for president. Supporters literally caucus and ask you to come to their group.
Groups that do not have 15 percent of the vote have to either join another group, pick another candidate, stay undecided, pick no candidate or join another small group to help that candidate obtain a delegate. The caucus chairman will determine the number of delegates each group gets and the winner for the state is the candidate with the most delegates.
The Republican caucuses are pretty simple and done with each voter casting their vote by a show of hands or a paper ballot. The results are then reported with a winner named for the caucuses.
Iowa has a history of electing both political parties’ eventual nominee for president. In the 2000 election, then Texas Governor George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore won their respective parties’ caucuses in Iowa. In 2004, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) won Iowa and his party’s nomination.
Participants in the caucus for either political party must be a member of that political party. One can register as a registered member the day of the caucus. Requirements include being a U.S. citizen, a resident of Iowa, being eligible to vote in the Nov. 4, 2008 presidential election and a resident the precinct that you wish to caucus. Precincts will be in neighborhood places like schools, churches, businesses and maybe even private homes.
Information on the political parties can be found at www.iowagop.net and www.iowademocrats.com.
For more information, contact the following in your counties or visit your local county office.
Scott County (Davenport and Bettendorf)
Democrat / Democratas
Susan Frembgen
563-324-4096
Republican / Republicanos
Susan Frazer
563-289-3227
Muscatine County (West Liberty and Muscatine)
Democrat / Democratas
Don Paulson
319-726-4631
[email protected]
Republican / Republicanos
Jeff Coffman
563-288-6645
[email protected]
Johnson County (Iowa City)
Democrat / Democratas
James Moody
[email protected]
319-337-8683
Republican / Republicanos
Bill Keetel
319-339-8381
[email protected]
Louisa County (Columbus Junction)
Democrat / Democratas
[email protected]
Republican / Republicanos
Mike Hodges
319-523-8454
[email protected]
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