In Des Moines it’s time to party.
“The Republicans and Democrats in many ways, sink or swim, on this I want the Democrats to do well, I want the caucuses to do well,” says Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann.
And that’s from the head of Iowa’s Republican Party.
But it’s echoed by the state’s top Democrat.
“We take this very seriously,” says Iowa Democratic Party chairman Dr. Andy McGuire.
Every four years Iowa leads the nation with its statewide Caucuses.
Many national pundits see Iowa’s role as over-sized.
Its Caucuses are… well… quaint.
“It is a very peculiar system,” says ABC Political Analyst Cokie Roberts.
But for top Iowa political leaders, the Caucuses aren’t seen as a barometer of who will win in November.
It’s a test of messages.
“I think we’re very representative,” says chairman McGuire.
“We’re talking about social justice, we’re talking about income and equality, we’re talking about health care, we’re talking about college affordability, those are issues that really are all across the United States.
“If we really believe in this country, that anybody can grow up to be president, we need to start in a place like Iowa,” says chairman Kaufmann.
Kaufmann and other party leaders say Iowa offers candidates the chance to meet voters face to face without spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising.
“It’s an affordable place to run a campaign,” says Davenport Republican political operative Steve Grubbs. Grubbs is a former chairman of Iowa’s Republican Party.
“If you start in a big state with expensive media markets only the rich guys get to compete and that would be bad for Democracy.
And, they say, Iowans have a history of being engaged, turning out to weigh each candidate on their merits.
And that process will continue into Monday night.
“Iowans are known for making up their minds towards the end and there’s certainly a large group of people that haven’t made up their minds yet and there’s some who won’t make up their minds until Caucus night,” says McGuire.
So what will the pundits look for at the Caucuses?
Not only who wins, but who survives. Iowa’s biggest role in the campaign is to thin the herd.
“It is a peculiar system, and on the Democratic side we’re looking to see where Martin O’Malley’s voters go,” says analyst Cokie Roberts. “He has run in the low single digits in all the polls.”
