I'm finally starting to really grasp the importance of the Iowa Caucus after reading dozens of articles about the 'upcoming' event.

Basically Iowa is supposed to be the biggest 'mix' of different needs/parties/issues/interests (fill-in-the-blank) type of people. And with the Caucus, the candidates actually sit down in town hall style meetings with people and literally just have face-to-face conversations. The people are present and accounted for and choose who they support almost with the candidate "in front of them". And it's a time when all potential candidates are there at relatively the same time, and telling the people face-to-face what they want to do with the country/presidency.

This gives each candidate an almost equal opportunity with the same mixture of people to sell themselves and their campaign to 'the people'. After Iowa is over, it's a heated race of chaotic campaigning from state-to-state with less and less time at each event until the November elections.

Iowa isn't "the most important" event...but it is the first, and the most face time all the candidates will have in one location until November. If a candidate can convince 'the people' in Iowa and then again in New Hampshire, they will have a supposedly easier time gaining their party's support/nomination.

Sorry if I used a lot of quotes or if the above doesn't make much sense. I'm just spilling out my thoughts on [paper] the net from what I've been reading in various articles.

Cross-section of the United States....hmmm

New Hampshire's population was 95 percent white in 2006; Iowa's population was 93 percent white, putting both states among the least diverse in the country.
Source: Census Bureau

Cross-section is in terms of needs and loyalties. Some find social issues more important, some economical issues, and some foreign policy issues. In general terms it's also a cross-section of incomes and types of jobs; like: farmers, industry, labor, research, services, etc. And finally it's also a cross-section of political loyalties. Neither state tends to lean one way or the other in any sort of real trend (sort of like Wisconsin).

If you want to talk race, creed, sex, religion; Obama got the approval of 35% of the Democratic female turn-out and 38% of the overall Democratic turn-out in a majority-white state running against a female candidate. And he looks to achieve a similar score in New Hampshire under similar circumstances.

Even with that, the top runner in Iowa was a black man.

I'm tired of people throwing out the race card. Big deal if it's a bunch of white people. Whites aren't as backwards and closed mined as they are portrayed and as you want them to be.

New York and LA aren't representative of crossections either!

By the way, I'm not white.

I don't know why the Iowa caucus was important to others, but if I remember correctly it was important to Hillary because she excepted to win this one hands down. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to lose. But now that she didn't win, this has become a major setback for her.

Here is a link which might help...

Untitled Document


Basically the Iowa and New Hampshire caucus' are important because they are first. The first are important because the nominees are not running in any other states so they have more time to meet and greet the people of Iowa and New Hampshire, whether it be in a town hall meeting or while they are walking the streets shaking hands and kissing babies. when it comes time for the Nevada, Michigan..etc caucus most niminees are running in other states which prevents them from meeting and greeting the number of people they have the opportunity to meet in Iowa and or New Hampshire.

This is a very interesting post because. I myself did not know much out our politicts but i am only 14 And i found my self asking this same question when i was doing an essay on Political Science, I had to explain the prosses of our goverment election and so on. And in the middle of the essay i found out i had no idea what a Caucus was ill be sure to refer back to this site if i have any questions about our goverment. Thanks for this post it helped

Thanks to each and every one of you who have carefully and thoroughly explained the IMPORTANCE of a caucus. Now, please get back to the original question and explain the PROCESS. By process, we might want to know who gets to vote in a caucus and how they are chosen as caucus representatives.

I know many of us don't actually know anything at all about the process. We will ALL probably keep out of the discussion until someone can actually shed some light on the process for us. Then we will all want to jump back in.

Iowa is not the only state with caucuses. Today, Super Tuesday, we New Mexicans are holding the Democratic Caucus. The Republican Primary will be held in June. ?!?!?!?!? I know that the polls are open limited hours today and at consolodated polling places.

FAQs About the New Mexico Presidential Preference
Caucus to be held on February 5, 2008
Note: This is a non-binding summary of the various rules for the New Mexico
Presidential Preference Caucus and the Delegate Selection Plan, compiled for
your convenience. The official, binding Delegate Selection Plan can be found on
our web site, Welcome to the Democratic Party of New Mexico., by clicking on the icon on the left side of
the page that says “Denver 2008 – DPNM’s 2008 Delegate Selection Plan”.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAUCUS
What is the New Mexico Presidential Preference Caucus?
The Presidential Preference Caucus is a statewide election conducted on
February 5th, 2008 by the Democratic Party of New Mexico for the purpose of
voting for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. The
results of this election will be used to determine New Mexico's allocation of
delegates among the Democratic Presidential candidates to the Democratic
National Convention in August of 2008.
Will I still be able to vote for the Democratic nominee for President in New
Mexico’s Primary on June 3rd, 2008?
No. The February 5th, 2008 Caucus is the only opportunity New Mexico
Democrats will have to vote for President in a primary in 2008.
How does New Mexico's Caucus compare to Iowa's Caucus?
New Mexico will employ a different type of caucus than the traditional one used
by Iowa. Democratic voters will be able to cast absentee ballots from January
12th to January 28th, 2008. On February 5th, 2008, Caucus sites will be open
from noon until 7:00 PM (voters in line at 7:00 PM will be allowed to vote after the
polls close). Voters will simply cast a ballot at the Caucus site and then leave,
much like voting in a regular election.
Is this an open or closed Caucus (meaning can people registered as
Independents or as “Decline-to-State” participate)? Who is eligible to
participate in the Caucus?
This is a closed Caucus -- only Democrats in New Mexico who have officially
registered Democratic by January 4th, 2008, may participate in the Caucus.
Will results of the Presidential Preference Caucus be ready on the evening
of February 5th? When will finalized results be ready?
Preliminary results should be ready by 8:30 PM on February 5th. However,
certified results will not be ready until February 15th, 2008.