Understanding Iowa & New Hampshire
"First-in-the-nation" States Still Wield Power

Jimm Phillips
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, December 26, 2007 1:43 PM

Just a few days remain until voters kick off the process for deciding who will be the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. Despite calls by some politicos to let other states hold their primaries earlier, the two "first-in-the-nation" contests remain the same -- Iowa will be the first state to hold nominating caucuses and New Hampshire will be the first state to hold primary elections.

HOW DO THE IOWA CAUCUSES WORK?

The Democrats and Republicans in Iowa choose their national convention delegates through caucuses beginning on Jan. 3 in each of the state's 1,781 precincts. In order to participate, a potential caucus-goer must be a registered member of a political party and must be able to prove he/she will be 18 by the next general election. Caucusgoers are allowed to register on election night at the caucus location. The Democratic and Republican parties differ in the way they organize and run their respective caucuses.

When voters caucus or cast primary ballots they are starting the process to choose delegates who will vote for a specific candidate at the party's convention. In the Democratic caucus, delegate convention seating is decided based on the percentage of support each candidate gets from caucus-goers. At the start of the caucus, participants gather into groups based on which candidate they support most. During the first half hour, each group attempts to get people from other groups -- especially undecideds -- to defect to their candidate group.

Once 30 minutes pass, all election-related activity stops and caucus leaders take an official tally of each group's numbers. Officials then determine whether each group is "viable" -- that is, whether that group's candidate has the support of a high enough percentage of participants to remain a voting option at that particular caucus location. The percentage of support needed to be viable varies, although a guide from the Iowa Democratic Party's Web site indicates it is usually between 15 and 25 percent.

Once officials have determined which groups are viable, the caucus enters a "realignment" period. During this period non-viable groups have several options. Their members may join a viable group or they may combine with another non-viable group in an attempt to become viable. Members of viable groups are also free to join other groups during realignment. After the realignment period officials close voting.

Officials then take a final head count of each group, and figure out each candidate's level of support in that precinct. The caucus chair then reports the data to the Iowa Democratic Party. The party reports results to media outlets. The preference groups elect apportioned delegates to then go on to a countywide convention. At countywide conventions, delegates choose who will serve as delegates to district conventions and the statewide convention. Most delegates to the Democratic National Convention are chosen at the district level. Delegates to the district convention are initially duty-bound to vote for the candidate they are elected to represent, but may switch to support a different candidate at a later time in the convention if they so choose.

The Republican caucus is conducted through a straw poll. All participants listen to each campaign representative speak and then write down the name of their preferred candidate on a blank piece of paper and hand the paper in to the caucus chair.

Representatives of the Republican Party of Iowa total those votes and release the results to the media and party headquarters. Delegates from each precinct go on to a county convention, where they choose delegates to go on to a district convention. At the district convention delegates are chosen for the Republican State Convention. Delegates at the state convention ultimately decide how many delegates each candidate will send from the state to the Republican National Convention.

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Although New Hampshire state records indicate the state has held a primary election during every presidential election cycle since 1916, it didn't get national attention until Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver defeated then-President Harry Truman in the state's 1952 Democratic primary. It was largely because of his defeat in the state that Truman abandoned efforts to run for a second full term. In 1968 Lyndon Johnson only narrowly defeated Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy in the state's primary. The results were a factor in Johnson's decision not run for reelection that year.

The state has been the first state to hold a primary election in every cycle since 1920. For 57 years the Granite State held this distinction purely because of tradition, but New Hampshire state legislators finally decided to codify the tradition into law in 1977 by requiring the state's primary election occur at least a week in advance of any "similar election" -- meaning a similar number of candidates participating or similar electoral processes being utilized. As a result of changes in other states' primary dates, the New Hampshire primary has moved up several times -- this year to Jan. 8.

As with most primary elections, New Hampshire's delegates to the national convention are chosen based on a direct count of the popular vote. The New Hampshire primary allows independents to vote in whichever primary election they choose, but prohibits them from voting more than once.

WHY ARE IOWA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE IMPORTANT?

Since claiming the title of 'first state to hold a presidential primary election each cycle', New Hampshire's political clout has increased dramatically. People look to the contest as the first binding indication of who voters support, and a top finish in the primary can give candidates crucial momentum as they move into other state contests. New Hampshire state records indicate that in the last seven contested Democratic primaries, only 1984's winner (Colorado Sen. Gary Hart) and 1992's winner (former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas) failed to later win their party's nomination. On the Republican side over the same time period, only the 2000 winner (Arizona Sen. John McCain) and the 1996 winner (Pat Buchanan) failed to later win their party's nomination.

Although Iowa voters have used the caucus system for deciding political issues since before they achieved statehood in 1846, they did not begin to come into the national spotlight until the 1972 presidential campaign. The Iowa Democratic Party instituted reforms in their delegate selection process during the early 1970s that required a longer amount of time between the precinct, county, district and state caucuses. As a result, they had to move their party's 1972 precinct caucuses up to Jan. 24, making it the first nominating contest in the nation. The Iowa Republican Party moved their precinct caucuses up to the same date as the Democrats' in 1976. That year, Democrat Jimmy Carter won the caucus. Carter went on to win the Democratic nomination and the White House.

A NUMBER OF STATES MOVED UP THEIR PRIMARY AND CAUCUS DATES THIS YEAR. HAS THIS HAD ANY EFFECT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IOWA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE CONTESTS?

For now, at least, Iowa and New Hampshire will still carry a lot of weight in the presidential nominating process for both major parties. This comes despite efforts earlier this year in a number of states to increase their importance in the nominating process by moving their primary dates up. The clearest indication of this can be seen in the number of contests being held Feb. 5. While only eight states were scheduled to hold contests on that date at the beginning of this year, an additional 12 states later moved their own primaries and caucuses up to that date. What was once considered "Super Tuesday" has now been dubbed "Super-Duper Tuesday" by various media outlets.

These efforts have not had a negative effect on the importance of the Iowa and New Hampshire contests, according to Candice Nelson, a professor at American University's School of Public Affairs.

"Even this year, with the system being more frontloaded than it's ever been before, Iowa and New Hampshire have remained just as important to the presidential nominating process -- if not more so," she said.