DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) 鈥 There's a lot less fanfare for Democrats in Iowa picking their presidential nominee this year, and it's not only because Democratic incumbent Joe Biden is in the White House.
Instead of congregating for , a one-night spectacle where community members publicly signal their support for a candidate, Iowa Democrats headed to the mailbox to send in their ballot. The results will be released on Super Tuesday, a across more than a dozen states.
The follows that mired the party in 2020 and the of the Democrats' 2024 calendar to prioritize more diverse states. The fallout has disappointed Iowa party leaders and activists, with some feeling jilted by the national party.
Even more, it has left many worried about the deterioration of Democrats鈥 grassroots organizing and about the prospects for success in a state that has morphed from a purple toss-up into a Republican stronghold over the last decade.
Nancy Bobo, a longtime Democratic activist in Des Moines, was able to vote for a presidential nominee this year by mailing in her ballot even though, for the first time since 1980, she was sick and couldn鈥檛 make it to her caucus on Jan. 15. Nevertheless, the change is a 鈥渢horn in my side,鈥 she said.
鈥淵eah, you vote,鈥 Bobo said, but 鈥測ou lose all that congregating and coming together and discussing issues.鈥
Bobo, an early supporter of then-Senator Barack Obama's campaign, recounted the record-breaking caucus on Jan. 3, 2008, when so many people gathered at a high school that they were forced to move from the auditorium to the gymnasium.
As a caucus chair for Obama, Bobo was responsible for wooing her peers, especially those who supported candidates that didn鈥檛 attract 15% of the room, the Democrats鈥 threshold for candidates to be considered viable.
鈥淭he excitement in the air was like nothing I鈥檇 ever experienced,鈥 Bobo said of the 2008 caucus. 鈥淚 doubt that what we do now is going to have much impact on the national scene at all."
In the lead up to 2024, the Democratic 好色tv Committee decided to at Biden鈥檚 request, prioritizing diverse voters in states like South Carolina and Michigan over the predominantly white voters in Iowa. Critics, including Biden, have said the caucuses are not representative of the party.
The national party has worked with Iowa Democrats 鈥渢o ensure a more accessible, equitable primary process鈥 and is providing financial and other resources 鈥渢o strengthen state party infrastructure," a DNC spokesperson said in an email.
While more than 200,000 Iowans participated in the 2008 contest that kicked off young Obama鈥檚 ascent to the White House, that record-breaking number is a rarity on both sides of the aisle. Even during a contested race, participation in the caucuses is typically a modest fraction of the party鈥檚 registered voters.
Past plans to make the caucuses more accessible for voters who are older, have disabilities, work the night shift or can鈥檛 get childcare didn鈥檛 materialize. And then rushed revisions to the way precinct results were reported 鈥 at the party's behest 鈥 broke down on the night of the 2020 Democratic caucuses, leading to a failure to produce .
鈥淭here was a lot of drama in the way we鈥檝e done it in the past,鈥 said Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. 鈥淪ome person鈥檚 idea of excitement and drama is another person鈥檚 total and complete chaos. What the Democratic Party needs to really focus on is the excitement, but make sure that it鈥檚 very productive.鈥
While disappointed in the national party's decision, the Iowa Democratic Party is reimagining the caucuses as an opportunity to reconsider how to encourage people to come 鈥渁nd then engage in the kind of conversations that strengthen us as Democrats," Hart said.
According to the party, more than 6,000 Iowa Democrats participated in the Jan. 15 caucus, which was focused, among other things, on electing individuals to serve as delegates to the August Democratic 好色tv Convention in Chicago.
They received more than 19,000 requests for presidential preference cards, which is higher than the number that participated in the 2012 Democratic caucuses, the last time there was a Democrat incumbent. As of Friday, more than 11,000 had been returned.
Sherry Kiskunas of Waterloo had never actually voted in a caucus before this year. She was recruited to help run the caucus at her precinct in 2012. Before that, she 鈥渄idn鈥檛 even know about them," she said.
Even before the difficulties experienced in 2020, Kiskunas said caucuses could be messy.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 so bad when I was vice chair because I wasn鈥檛 in charge. But when I was the chair, it was horrible,鈥 she said.
She recalled counting and recounting people migrating from one candidate's supporters to another's. One year, two precincts in one room added confusion.
鈥淧eople get impatient, and they want to leave,鈥 Kiskunas said. 鈥淚 want to go home, too, but the count has to be right.鈥
The 鈥渆asy鈥 mail-in ballot allowed her to vote this year. Still, 鈥渢he party suffers,鈥 she said.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have a chance to party build. You don鈥檛 have the chance for the interface like we had," Kiskunas said.
Sara Riley, an attorney in Cedar Rapids, thinks moving away from a caucus format makes sense. She doesn鈥檛 think engagement on the ground will diminish; instead, a primary could lead more people to participate.
Riley, who has volunteered hundreds of hours for presidential campaigns, said she doesn鈥檛 think that energy goes away just because the method changes.
Even with a different method of voting, returning to the early window could continue to bring presidential hopefuls to the rural, Midwest state that has a more affordable media market. The Iowa Democratic Party has said it agreed to the changes this year only with reassurances that Iowa would be considered for the early set of states in 2028.
But Bobo is skeptical.
鈥淥nce it鈥檚 gone,鈥 she said, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty hard to get it back.鈥
