Iowa Caucuses
Considered the official start of the Presidential election season. The Iowa Caucuses have been the first official votes cast in the Democratic Presidential nomination process since 1972. That year the Iowa Democratic Party scheduled its caucus to occur before the New Hampshire Primary. South Dakota Senator George McGovern used his win that year to propel him to claim the party's nomination over Maine Senator Edmund Muskie. The Iowa Caucuses would also help Jimmy Carter claim the Democratic nomination in 1976. From 1984-1996 the winner of the Iowa Caucus, excluding incumbents, did not go on to win their party's nomination. However, in 2008 then Senator Barack Obama won the caucus over Senator Hillary Clinton and used the win's momentum to eventually win the Democratic nomination.
Read more about this topic: Iowa Democratic Party
Famous quotes containing the word iowa:
“When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn’t come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.”
—Bill Bryson (b. 1951)