Will Iowa caucuses remain first in the nation? Democrats make their pitch Thursday

Iowa Democrats make their pitch Thursday to the Democratic National Committee’s Rules & Bylaws Committee as to why they should remain an early-voting state in the nation’s presidential nominating process.

State party officials will present proposed changes to its caucuses that modernizes and streamlines the process. The goal: Secure a renewed place at the front of their party’s presidential nominating calendar.

The Republican National Committee in April voted unanimously to keep Iowa at the front of the line in the GOP’s presidential selection process.

Iowa is among 16 states and Puerto Rico vying to be included in Democrats’ early presidential nominating window ahead of Super Tuesday in early March 2024.

The DNC rules committee voted in April to reopen the presidential nominating window, forcing all interested states — including the current early-nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — to apply for a spot.

The move came after the current lineup of early-nominating states came under increasing fire following a chaotic 2020 caucus night for Iowa Democrats when a smartphone app — meant to make reporting results easier — failed. As a result, the official Democratic caucus results were not reported for several weeks.

Critics have slammed Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status over the state’s lack of diversity and electoral competitiveness. And national Democrats complain the caucuses are too opaque and inaccessible, requiring in-person attendance, which can make them difficult at attend for Iowans who work late shifts, lack access to child care or transportation or have health or mobility problems.

To make their caucuses more accessible, Iowa Democrats are proposing to eliminate the requirement for in-person attendance and are reorganizing the caucus practice of identifying candidates’ “viability” over multiple rounds.

The DNC rules committee is expected to meet in early August and recommend a slate of up to five states for the early nominating window.

What’s proposed

Under the proposed changes, an Iowa Democrat would request a presidential preference card in the mail and would have 14 to 28 days to either mail it back or return it in person caucus night.

On caucus night, the Iowa Democratic Party would report the results publicly.

The caucuses themselves would focus primarily on conducting party business, such as electing delegates to county conventions.

The state party also would contract with either a DNC-approved election vendor or with a county auditor or the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office to ensure a fair and trustworthy process.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Ross Wilburn has said the changes will make the caucuses more straightforward, accessible and professional.

“While the nominating process should always be subject to critical examination, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina serve our party well as an accessible cross-section of the national Democratic electorate, and each state presents a unique, important test for presidential hopefuls,” Wilburn wrote in a letter to the DNC.

Iowa Code requires political parties hold caucuses at least eight days before any other state’s primary. It does not say how those caucuses must be conducted.

“Caucuses in Iowa have a history of higher turnout than many other states’ presidential nominating contests, despite some historical barriers,” Wilburn wrote. “We intend to simplify the process so that it is easy to understand and offers more options for participation. Such planned changes can only serve to expand an already-engaged electorate.”

Iowa’s speakers

Those who will present Thursday to the DNC rules committee will be Wilburn; Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights; Democratic state Rep. Ras Smith of Waterloo; and Scott Brennan, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman and the only Iowan on the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee.

“I think our presentation will show Iowa is much more diverse than they think. And, there are many forms of diversity,” Brennan said Tuesday.

“One of the forms of diversity that Iowa brings, frankly, is the rural working-class diversity. And it’s a group of folks Democrats have forgotten how to talk to,” he said. “… And if we can’t figure that out, under the Electoral College system, we’ll be doomed to win popular votes and lose the Electoral College. And that’s criminal, and that’s on us if we can’t figure that out.”

Brennan dismissed reporting over the weekend by the Des Moines Register suggesting Iowa Democrats lack fervor in their fight to stay first in the nation.

“It’s hard to think in terms of the 2024 presidential cycle when what’s facing us square in the face now is an incredibly important election in the fall of 2022,” Brennan said. “Bottom line is I don’t think people are dispirited or uninterested.”

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