Iowa 2012
Many of you know that I worked the Iowa Caucuses in 2008 for Hillary, and then again in 2012 for Newt Gingrich. Unusual, yes, but when Newt reentered the race in late 2011 and a friend asked me to organize SW Iowa, I jumped at the chance to see how the other side operates.
(I didn’t care who won Iowa in 2012. Did you? Of COURSE we’d be up against Romney in the fall. And this was a vanity campaign anyway.) And yes, they knew I was a lifelong partisan Dem, but it’s not like political staff has anything to do with policy or messaging. They knew I was a seasoned organizer and that’s all they needed. With almost a dozen GOP candidates in the race, there probably wasn’t a Republican left in the country who was willing to come campaign in Iowa in the dead of winter. I was already there visiting family for the Christmas holiday, and I thought it would be an interesting experience.
And I thought it would make a great article. I’m one of the few organizers who’s experienced the process from both sides, and I can attest that Iowa’s primary election is unlike any other, anywhere.
Iowans take their “first in the nation” role very seriously. For activists, it goes beyond a responsibility to a calling, and some of the most talented operatives in the business are based there.
The Caucuses are a hugely important revenue boost for the state. I don’t have figures but estimates put it easily over a billion dollars. Think about all the staff who travel or move there, for every single campaign AND independent group, spending on rent, hotels, restaurants, rental cars, fuel to traverse the state, office space, equipment, facility rentals, entertaining, printing, permitting… the list goes on. There are two media markets (!!) and I’m told the Des Moines airport has some of the highest fees in the country.
Iowans know it’s important to get it right, especially after the traditional Ames Straw Poll was deemed irrelevant and scrapped in 2011 when Michele Bachmann came in first. (Romney came in fifth. Tim Pawlenty came in 3rd and dropped out.) Residents will tell you with a straight face that they will not caucus for anyone they haven’t met in person, a declaration which reflects the ingrained entitlement of the electorate, as well as the implicit demand, “They come to me.”
And they have to. By mid-summer, land lines are unusable. The phones ring constantly and voice mails are crammed with messages from campaign staff, volunteers, superPACs, and pollsters. Many homes turn off their service completely. So by design and necessity, it’s all about face to face interaction. Candidates make frequent appearances at elaborate events designed to entice potential voters to come listen to their platform. Recruiting volunteers and staff to navigate icy sidewalks and knock on farm house doors is critically important.
They say nobody goes to Iowa by accident, and no one wins the Iowa Caucuses by accident. Rick Santorum moved his family there, and made sure he visited all 99 counties to eke out his 2012 victory. You have to be there, and you have to put in the work. Keep these things in mind as January plays out.
UPDATE: In 2016, Donald Trump offended the state of Iowa by skipping the planned debate. When he lost, he fired his Iowa staff, the same ones who had pleaded with him to reconsider his decision.
