A Caucus, Instead
There have been lots of conversations the past few years about the merits of caucuses versus primaries. Iowa has traditionally been a caucus state; we tried a presidential primary election run by the state once, back in 1916…and it was such a disaster it has never been seriously discussed again.
The move favored by Democrats—so much so that a recent past chair sabotaged caucuses in both Iowa and Nevada—has been away from a caucus run by the party and in favor of a primary election run and paid for by the state. Caucuses, however, are well known as ways for political parties to build support and ground game that can help in future elections.
The folks in Utah apparently see the wisdom of that. Utah has had a primary, but now the Republicans there have given notice to state officials that they will opt out of the primary in favor of a caucus to be held in early March, on the first so-called “Super Tuesday”, in fact.
It’s actually not the first time Utah Republicans have done that recently…they also opted for a caucus instead of a primary in 2016, the last time there was no Republican incumbent in the field.
Folks there say caucuses in fact did help them with party building…but they also say having a caucus helps them, as a small state, from being ignored and considered just a flyover
They’re right…which is why Iowa needs to fight with its last breath to keep our unique system first in the nation and resist attempts by large states, national TV channels, and national parties from hijacking what has worked for a half century, all in the name of gaining greater power and control for themselves.
