All eyes on Iowa

American voters (well, a very small number of them) go to the polls on Monday

The primaries kick off this week, and so begins the formal process of selecting the candidates to run for the White House. Iowa and New Hampshire have historically kicked off as the first two states, though this is slightly complicated this year by the Democrats sidelining Iowa this time round.

The key arguments for and against the importance of Iowa and New Hampshire go something like this.

On the one hand, the traditionally early state contests in Iowa and New Hampshire are unrepresentative of the wider US voting public. Iowa and NH are over 84% and 91% white, respectively, versus 57% for the US population as a whole. Both states are rural, conservative, and above average wealth. Therefore the concerns of voters in these states is out of alignment with the rest if the union, e.g. Iowa’s obsession with ethanol subsidies!

But against this, Iowa and New Hampshire have relatively small populations therefore this gives voters the opportunity to meet candidates face to face and indulge in some old fashioned “retail politics”, a process that would not be possible if one of the bigger states was first or if there was a clutch of states voting on the same day.

A more detailed analysis of why these two states have such an out of kilter influence, and whether this can be justified can be found here in this weekend's Guardian.

Some video resources are included below also.

Questions on the above video
1. What is the purpose of the Iowa caucuses?
2. How are caucuses different from primary elections?
3. Why is the Iowa caucus considered an important event in the presidential campaign?
4. How did the Iowa caucuses gain significance in the primary process?
5. What factors led to George McGovern gaining campaign buzz after winning the Iowa caucus?
6. Does the outcome of the Iowa caucuses accurately predict the eventual winner of the presidential election?
7. Can you provide an example of a candidate who did not win the Iowa caucuses but went on to become the Republican nominee?

Suggeted answers:
1. The purpose of the Iowa caucuses is to conduct party business and indicate preferences for the Presidential nominee.
2. Caucuses are held in the evening and require in-person attendance, while primary elections are conducted throughout the day at polling booths.
3. The Iowa caucus is considered important because it tests a candidate's campaign organizational strength and ability to attract voters.
4. The Iowa caucuses gained significance in the primary process due to efforts to make the primary process more democratic and the caucuses being moved earlier in the year.
5. George McGovern gained campaign buzz after winning the Iowa caucus because it generated headlines and showcased his campaign's momentum.
6. The outcome of the Iowa caucuses does not consistently predict the eventual winner of the presidential election.
7. George W. Bush was the last non-incumbent Republican president to win both the Iowa caucuses and the nomination.