While republicans hold their Presidential caucuses tonight for 1774 precincts at 806 locations throughout Iowa, the national media have neglected to talk about the Democratic Party in Iowa, which will also be holding their caucuses tonight.
The Iowa Democratic Party will be caucusing tonight throughout the State, which also includes the same 1774 precincts, with caucus meetings at 246 locations. President Obama will be calling and live streaming via webcast into caucus sites across Iowa to all Democratic Party caucus locations.
President Obama must also win the Democratic Party nomination before he can face the winner of the Republican Party in the general elections. As all 50 States hold Republican primaries or caucuses to determine a Republican winner over the next few months, the Democratic Party will also be holding primaries or caucuses in all 50 States.
While the Republican Party has been on a roller coaster ride the last several months with candidate after candidate rising to the top in the polls, then falling back down to make way for the next “flavor of the week”, the Iowa Democratic Party have been steadfast on one candidate, and that’s the leader of the Democratic Party in the United States, President Barack Obama. The fact that Obama is the incumbent has also made it easier for the Democrats to coalesce around one candidate.
And after tonight’s caucuses in Iowa, the republican candidates will close up their offices and move to New Hampshire and elsewhere, while the campaign offices for President Obama will remain open, and with their staff back to work tomorrow.
Following the Iowa caucuses, the next three States, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida will be holding primaries, not a caucus. The next caucus State is Nevada, where the Democratic Party will hold its caucuses on January 21, 2012, but not the Republican Party; they will be holding their caucuses on February 4, 2012, as they ultimately decided to move their caucus date from January 14, 2012 to February 4, 2012, which will cost Nevada millions in lost revenues from campaign ads and visits by the republican candidates who would have been campaigning across the State.
But on the upside for the Nevada GOP, in exchange for moving their caucus date and making Nevada almost irrelevant in the selection of the republican nominee, they have been promised by the Republican National Committee (RNC) good seats and good hotel arrangements for the Republican National Convention to be held in Tampa Bay, FL, in August.