2007-12-26 06:24:30 · 11 answers · asked by don 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
It's not!
Iowa's only claim to importance is on being the first state to hold the Presidential primary election.
Winning the Iowa caucuses is equivalent to scoring a field goal or a safety on the first play of the first quarter in a football game. You still have to play the rest of the game in order to win.
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2007-12-26 06:26:39 · answer #1 · answered by martini 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Because Iowa (and New Hampshire) are the first to select delegates to the national conventions.
It's like a horse race--tthe horses that break out of the starting gate well and take the lead have a real advantage, even though the race has barely started. same thing here. There's nothing special aobout Iowa voters (no offense!)--they happen to go first. If our political process decades ago had been such that another state happened to be first, they'd get all the attention instead.
2007-12-26 06:46:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Important? Not really. Think of it as the first heat in a series of races in which all the contestants compete each time. At the end of the first heat, some contestants win, some came close to winning and some obviously lost.
In Iowa, if one of the "contestants" wins really big, then their campaign will get a HUGE burst of energy by sucking it off from the others.
Suppose for a moment that Hillary get something like 90% of the vote, She would go to next state looking like winner. However, if she is on the other end and someone else get a huge percentage, she would go to the next state looking like a loser. People are less likely to support a loser or a "Non-winner". People tend to like and support winners.
Will not winning in Iowa knock anybody out of the election? Probably not. Just watch and listen to the candidates afterwards. Everyone will claim victory.
2007-12-26 06:46:35 · answer #3 · answered by 8-) Nurf Herder 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's just an early indication of how well the candidates are doing....nothing more or less than that. Often the ones that come out on the bottom will realize that they are fighting a losing battle and drop out shortly after.
Also wanted to point out that "gap sucks" is incorrect. Howard Dean did NOT win the Iowa Democratic Caucus on 2004....he actually came in 3rd behind John Kerry (1st) and John Edwards (2nd). Dean *acted* like he won afterwards and was shown on TV whooping & hollering about how wonderful he did, which made him look like a dork and was basically the end of his campaign.
You can find past results here, scroll down to near the bottom of the page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_caucus
2007-12-26 06:46:46 · answer #4 · answered by redhairedgirl 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just because it's the first primary. The candidates want to be seen as "electible" so to have a good showing in Iowa means that there is somepopular support and it gives them momentum going into the rest of the primaries.
If you win Iowa, then you may pull primary voters in other states' primaries to vote for you because in the primary the goal is to get the party nomination. The party is going to want to nominate the one who has the best chance of beating the other party's candidate.
Let the Iowans have their moment in the sun. Honesly what else has Iowa got going for it?
2007-12-26 06:37:28 · answer #5 · answered by hose_b 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Iowa's caucuses are important because they are the first to be held in the nation during each Presidential election cycle. They are the candidates' first opportunity to gage their level of approval or popularity among voters.
2007-12-26 06:28:50 · answer #6 · answered by johnnyb6231 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it houses the first vote in the national nominations for each party. Other then that not much. What it gives candidates who win or get close is more media attention, money and the voters of each party may say to themselves, now this is a guy who can win, etc.
2007-12-26 06:30:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's the first chance for a candidate to see how they are doing in an actual election. Before this, it's just poll numbers, which the questions can be skewed to get a particular response.
I also think that most people look at it to see who they will support. Most people don't really look at the issues, but vote based on whose in the lead.
2007-12-26 06:30:28 · answer #8 · answered by Mutt 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
it's really not important..Clinton didn't win there..last time Dean won there..
it just serves to thin out the competition
2007-12-26 06:26:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because it houses the first caucus.
2007-12-26 06:27:43 · answer #10 · answered by DOOM 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋