By Alex Marwaha
Originally, I was completely for the Iowa caucus representing the country’s vote. People that I’ve discussed this issue with brought up great and interesting points about some of the surrounding facts I had never thought about, such as the quantitative demographics of the population of Iowa.
At first, I believed that the caucus was great opportunity for candidates to showcase their campaigns and build stories around them. A portion of the population is invested in the Iowa caucus, and that is a sizable portion that certain candidates I’m sure would love to capture. Hearing opinionated responses to the question “Do you feel the Iowa caucuses belong at the start of the primary process?” helped me come to a conclusion.
After doing research and realizing that the Democratic Party is extremely diverse in terms of race, age and political views, I quickly changed my mind. Iowa as a state is the three opposites of what a state representing the caucus should be like: very rural, about 90% white and old in population. This shows how the caucus is a poor representation of Democrats across the country, causing the caucus to appear as a red flag for the Democratic Party. The Iowa caucus also becomes a stressful situation for people with disabilities or those who simply cannot make it to the many locations due to personal reasons, making it tough for the caucus to represent voter turnout. What people are calling a “Democratic enthusiasm” did not show face in this 2020 Iowa caucus.
Change should be implemented, and as former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendall, an opinion contributor for The Hill, very excellently and conclusively stated, “What happened in Iowa will not stay in Iowa.”
Alex Marwaha is a student in a Media and Democracy class at St. Bonaventure University.
Categories: Jandoli Institute, Politics
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