Daemen PSC & HST Students Visit Iowa - Days 2 & 3

After learning about Iowan politics during our private tour of the state capitol with an Iowa Representative on day 1, our second and third days in Iowa were spent attending several Democratic presidential candidate rallies and a forum on democracy.  By attending the various town halls, community events, and the forum, we were able to get a glimpse of what it is like for Iowa voters preparing to caucus on February 3 for their favorite candidate.  Because Iowa is a smaller state (population roughly 3 million people) and they vote first in the nomination season, Iowa voters understand their importance in the nomination process and expect that candidates will spend a lot of time introducing themselves, shaking hands, and taking selfies with them.  As you will see, candidates in return, are happy to oblige. 

Senator Amy Klobuchar's "Amy for America" Campaign Bus

Waiting for Mayor Pete Buttigieg to take the stage

Caucuses are vastly different from primaries--and Iowa is even a bit different among the various caucus states.  In a primary, a voter simply shows up to their polling location, fills out their ballot, and turns it in.  In a caucus, a voter shows up at a specified time (say 7:00 pm) and settles in for a few hours of speeches (from campaign surrogates, grassroots volunteers, and activists) and then votes.  And in Iowa, the way voting happens is even different.  Instead of filling out a paper ballot, voters literally vote with their feet.  Voters gather in their predetermined precinct location and listen to various surrogates, volunteers, and activists talk about why their candidate is the best.  Then, after the speeches, the voting begins.  There are signs posted throughout the room in which voters are gathered and in order to vote for a candidate, voters stand in their candidate's location.  After everyone is in place, the voters are counted.  If a candidate fails to attract 15% of the vote, they do not reach "viability."  Any voters supporting a candidate that does not reach viability can either vote for their second choice or they can go home.  This process continues until all candidates left have achieved viability.  Once all candidates have achieved viability, the votes are officially tallied across all the precincts in the state (currently there are 1, 681 caucus precincts) and a winner ultimately emerges.  Complicating this even further is the fact that between the various rounds of voting, all of the voters are working at convincing the supporters of candidates who have failed to achieve viability to support their candidate.  So, for example, should Amy Klobuchar fail to reach viability, all of the supporters of all the other candidates will be working on convincing the Klobuchar supporters to vote for Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, or Biden instead. 

Listening to Vice President Joe Biden at his community event in Indianola, Iowa on 1/18/2020

Mayor Pete Buttigieg at his town hall in Council Bluffs, IA on 1/18/2020

Due to the nature of how voting actually happens in the Iowa caucuses, candidates try to ensure that their supporters are fully informed about their positions, their plans, and have a good idea of their character.  The candidates know that on caucus night, voters are expected to appeal to supporters of candidates that fail to achieve viability.  This is why candidates make several trips to Iowa and why they spend as much time as they do shaking hands and taking selfies.  These personal touches may make a huge difference on caucus night.  With a strong showing in Iowa (preferably a first place showing!) a candidate can then expect an increase in media attention as well as campaign donations. 

Tysai Washington and Sam Williams (R-L) with Joe Biden after his event in Indianola.  

Our whole group with Pete Buttigieg after his town hall in Council Bluffs.  

Our group with Elizabeth Warren after her town hall in Des Moines.  

After attending a few individual rallies (so far we have seen Biden, Buttigieg, and Warren) we were able to attend a forum entitled, We the People: Protecting Our Democracy a Decade After Citizens United.  (For anyone interested in the forum, it was recorded and can be found here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?468160-1/democratic-presidential-candidates-speak-we-people-2020-forum-iowa). At this forum, candidates were asked to address issues surrounding democracy, specifically focusing on the problems associated with money in politics.  Citizens United refers to the 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that independent expenditures related to political campaigns by corporations could not be restricted, as this would be a violation of their First Amendment Rights.  A total of six candidates appeared at the forum.  Andrew Yang, John Delaney, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar attended in person, while Pete Buttigieg and Deval Patrick appeared via Skype.  

Candidates at the We the People Forum (From Top to Bottom:
Elizabeth Warren, Deval Patrick, Andrew Yang,
Amy Klobuchar,Pete Buttigieg, and John Delaney).

 At each of these events, students have not only learned about the candidates running for office, but they have also learned a great deal about how unique Iowa is in our presidential nomination process.  They have been observing the power of retail politics--something we do not get to see much of in New York.  They have also been learning about how seriously Iowa residents take the nomination process and how closely they are actually paying attention.  We have spoken with some of the voters in the crowds at these events and everyone we have spoken with has been to multiple events from a variety of candidates.  Iowans take their first-in-the-nation role seriously and genuinely try to learn about the candidates through traditional retail politics. 

Daemen PSC & HST Students Visit Iowa - Day 1

On Thursday, January 16, I traveled to Des Moines, IA with 5 of our Political Science and History majors to experience the retail politics surrounding the fast-approaching Iowa Caucuses.  These caucuses are scheduled for February 3 and will set the tone for the rest of the presidential nominating contests.  We will be attending a variety of political events throughout the state, including campaign rallies/town halls/community events with Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren.

Waiting for our flight out of Buffalo

After a short delay in Detroit, we made it to Iowa in the evening of January 16 and settled in to our hotel.  Friday morning, we attended a presentation by the National Director of Project Vote Smart, Walker McKusick, which is headquartered at Drake University in Des Moines.  Our own political science professor, Dr. Lisa Parshall, is an advisor for Key Votes New York for Project Vote Smart.  Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan group that aims to provide factual information to voters ahead of elections.

Project Vote Smart Bumper Sticker 

Daemen Students (to the right in this picture) at the Vote Smart presentation with students from Principia College in Illinois, who are also in Des Moines to witness the pre-caucus events.  

After our Vote Smart presentation, Iowa was hit by a winter storm--giving us a snow day, as the rest of our events for today were canceled.  Des Moines ended up getting about 6 inches of snow today, but we still ventured out to explore the city a bit.  

The students (Carlos McKnight, Sam Williams, Lindsey Hornung, Ricardo Marquez, and Tysai Washington, from L-R) enjoying the snow on Drake University's campus.

To help fill up some of our snow day, we visited the Iowa State Capitol Building and had an incredible, unique experience.  

Iowa State Capitol Building 

From L-R: Tysai Washington, Ricardo Marquez, Sam Williams, Lindsey Hornung, Carlos McKnight

Once we got inside, we met Iowa State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, who has served Polk County (of which Des Moines is the county seat) since 2007.  Representative Abdul-Samad introduced us to Latino Leader Mary Campos and former Iowa State Representative Wayne Ford.  Ms. Campos and Mr. Ford are the founders and chairs of the Brown and Black Forum held in Des Moines every four years.  The Brown and Black Forum provides candidates with the opportunity to address concerns of the African American and Latino communities.  The Forum began in 1984 and is an important part of run-up to the Iowa Caucuses.

Group picture with Mary Campos, Wayne Ford (center) and Representative Ako Abdul-Samad (right)

Representative Abdul-Samad was then kind enough to give us a tour of the State House of Representatives and tell us several stories about what brought him into politics and some of the issues he is currently fighting for.  

Chamber of the Iowa State House of Representatives 

Representative Abdul-Samad talking with students about the Iowa House of Representatives

Group Picture at the Speaker of the State House's Desk.  The current Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives is Pat Grassley, the grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley.  

Overall, we had a very exciting first day in Iowa, despite some inclement weather.  We were incredibly appreciative of Representative Abdul-Samad's time, as he gave us an incredible experience at the Iowa State Capitol.  

History & Political Science Students Traveling to Iowa to Observe Retail Politics

Despite the fact that candidates have been competing for the Democratic nomination for roughly one year already, and several have even dropped out, the nomination season has not officially begun.  February 3, 2020 is the official kickoff to the nomination season with Iowa caucusing for its favorite candidates.  Winning, or at least doing well, in Iowa is an important step to any candidate with hopes of becoming the nominee—especially among Democratic candidates, with the Iowa winner going on to win the nomination in every year since Bill Clinton took 4th place (out of 6 total candidates) in Iowa in 1992.  And in January 2020, 5 Daemen students and myself will be traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to get a first-hand look at why Iowa is so important in this process. 

Five History & Political Science students will be traveling with me to Des Moines, IA Jan. 16-21, 2020 to observe the importance or retail politics and learn about Iowa's role in the nomination process.  

With its vaunted status, Iowa voters tend to take their job seriously and candidates often welcome the vetting these voters provide.  Iowa voters expect candidates to visit the state repeatedly, shake hands, and convey to them that they understand the concerns of the average Iowan.  Oftentimes, Iowa voters will refuse to vote for a candidate they have not met in person, or at the very least not met with a staff member or been able to attend a rally of a particular candidate.  In fact, several Iowans will attend multiple rallies of several candidates to fully vet the candidates running for office.  And candidates tend to make this easy for Iowa voters.  Altogether, the Democrats running for the nomination have made over 1,600 appearances in Iowa over the course of 2019 thus far.  They have appeared in various cities and locales throughout the state—sometimes holding larger rallies and town hall meetings, while other times just popping in to a favorite coffee shop, restaurant, or pub. 

The value of these visits is twofold: 1) they allow voters to get a look at them in an up-close-and-personal way that advertisements and media appearances do not allow for and 2) they energize grassroots organizers and activists to volunteer for, and spread the message of, their favorite candidate.  My book, Campaigns That Matter, looks at the role of these visits in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 nomination contests and finds that visits impact a citizen’s likelihood to vote and which candidate they will ultimately vote for. 

Published by Lexington Press in 2017.  

Because Iowa plays such an important—and unique—role in the nomination process, I will be taking 5 History and Political Science students (Lindsey Hornung, Ricardo Marquez, Carlos McKnight, Tysai Washington, and Sam Williams) to Des Moines, Iowa from January 16-21, 2020 to observe the importance of retail politics.  We will be spending five days attending political rallies and town hall meetings, while also meeting with grassroots volunteers and party leaders to better understand retail politics and how much of a role they play in Iowa.  After we get back from Iowa, the five students will engage in a directed studies course, in which we will be exploring the uniqueness of the American presidential nominating process, through which they will prepare a paper for presentation at Daemen's Academic Festival on April 22, 2020.  We will be chronicling our experiences in Iowa on this blog along with our departmental social media pages, so I would encourage you all to follow along and learn with these students about how the road to the White House starts in Iowa. 

Why do we care about Iowa and New Hampshire?

On January 20, 1977 Jimmy Carter took the oath of office to become the 39^th President of the United States.  However, when Carter—a one-term governor from Georgia—announced his bid for the presidency on December 12, 1974, very few Americans had any idea who he was.  The Atlanta Constitution (now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Carter’s hometown newspaper, ran a story after Carter’s entrance into the race entitled, “Jimmy Who?”  Despite the fact that very few people knew who he was and there were 11 other candidates already in the race, Carter threw his hat into the ring, traveled to 40 different states and stopped in more than 250 cities across the country.  He put more effort into campaigning in Iowa than any of the other candidates in the race and ended up finishing at the top of the pack with 27% of the vote.  He used this surprise victory to propel him to victory in New Hampshire and ultimately the nomination.  Jimmy Carter thus demonstrated the importance of Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating process.  Winning early helps candidates building momentum—or “Big Mo” according to George H. W. Bush—which helps candidates demonstrate viability and electability to potential voters. 

Jimmy Carter greets voters at the Iowa State Fair in 1976.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/01/29/iowa-caucuses-history-jimmy-carter-julian-zelizer/79426692/

Gary Hart was in his second term in the U.S. Senate when he decided to throw his hat in the ring for the 1984 Democratic nomination.  Hart was polling around 1% in national polls, falling behind well-known Democrats Walter Mondale, John Glenn, and Jesse Jackson.  To combat his low approval numbers, Hart hit the ground in New Hampshire, making multiple stops and conducting various canvassing events throughout the entire state.  Hart managed to win 16% of the vote in Iowa, losing to Mondale by 33%.  However, two weeks later, Hart defeated Mondale by 10% in New Hampshire thanks to his ground game in the state.  Hart ultimately lost the nomination race, while Carter was able to win.  Nonetheless, New Hampshire made Hart a viable candidate, with him and Mondale volleying wins back and forth until June.  Without Hart’s surprise win in New Hampshire, Mondale likely would have wrapped up the nomination very quickly. 

Gary Hart celebrates his New Hampshire primary win in 1984.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/02/05/gary-hart-campaign-yankee-thrift-saved-day/KCqdyFoDNxaz7rtemukNDN/story.html

So, what is it about Iowa and New Hampshire that help us select our presidents?  Surprise victors generally end up looking more viable and electable than many voters originally thought.  These surprise winners are also rewarded with more media attention and more donations, helping them compete more strongly in upcoming contests.  While Iowa and New Hampshire are not perfect predictors for who the eventual nominee will be, they help candidates make a name for themselves, especially if that candidate is not well known to begin with.