The Guardian US, the school of journalism and mass communication at the University of Iowa and the Daily Iowan are hosting a discussion on the Iowa caucuses on Friday in which panelists will examine the 2024 race, the implications of the caucuses for democracy, and whether the future of the caucuses is in limbo.
For more than half a century, the Iowa caucuses – in-person gatherings in which the parties choose their preferred nominees – have come to occupy a unique position in American political life. They can transform long-shot candidates like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama into serious contenders overnight.
But 2024 also marks an unusual moment for the famed caucuses. Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the polls even as he has eschewed the typical retail politics to earn the trust of Iowa voters. Iowa Democrats will meet for a caucus on Monday, but in a first, voters can mail in their ballots and the party won’t announce their results until Super Tuesday in March. The change is because the Democratic National Committee has stripped Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status, giving South Carolina the US’s first primary. Whether or not the caucuses will return to their first position in 2028 for Democrats remains unclear.
Guardian US reporter Sam Levine will moderate the panel, which includes Sabine Martin, the Daily Iowan executive editor; Barbara Trish, a professor of political science at Grinnell; Rekha Basu, a former columnist at the Des Moines Register; and Sara Mitchell, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.
