The political world’s attention is focused on Iowa, but no one knows why this small state has played such an important role in presidential politics for more than a century. It looks like Iowa has become an extension of New Hampshire in the presidential nomination process.
This article will focus on different reasons why Iowa caucus is important. So, without wasting time let’s start-
15 Benefits Of Iowa Caucus For Presidential Elections
So, the Iowa caucus is one of the most reliable indicators in politics, especially during Presidential elections. It also gives us all a glimpse into how the primary process works through its sheer simplicity.
But there’s more to the Iowa caucus than its simplicity. Here are some of those benefits.
1. Iowa Caucus Helps In Choosing Strong And Electable Candidates
Iowa caucus gives a good idea about which candidate has strong grassroots support and which candidate can connect with a party’s base voters to win the general election. So, this is also another benefit of the Iowa caucus that makes it important for presidential elections.

2. Iowa Caucus Is The First Showcase For Presidential Candidates
Iowa caucus is the first means of showing strength for presidential candidates in their respective parties, and they engage in the state at a frantic pace because it’s new national attention that will affect their chances in New Hampshire’s primary election. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus.
3. Iowa Caucus Is A Way To Test The Presidential Candidates’ Popularity
The national and state-wide media outlets only give limited and favorable coverage to the caucuses and focus mainly on who won or lost which is, of course, very important; however, this is not the most significant outcome. So, the candidates’ popularity will be tested through the Iowa caucus.
4. Iowa State Is Known As A Swing State
Iowa caucus thus provides one of the earliest indicators that something may be happening in a state and no other state has such an important role nationally than Iowa. So, this is another reason why the Iowa caucus is very important for the presidential election.
It is considered as a swing state i.e., neither Democrat nor Republican can assume that the state will support them by a certain margin.
Reference Video – How Do The Iowa Caucuses Work, And Why Are They So Important?
5. Iowa Caucus Is Well-Organized And Easy To Understand
As we know, people of US and other countries only hear about the popular primaries and caucuses like California Primary and New Hampshire primary, but I want to highlight this fact that all states follow different rules for their primaries, caucuses are conducted thoroughly to understand with the help of our homely methods.
After all, it is easy to manage 15 state delegates by hand count rather than complicated machine count which shows the simplicity of the Iowa caucus.
6. Iowa Caucus Is A Very Low-Cost Election
Iowa’s precinct caucuses are truly low-cost and can be conducted in a matter of hours and the results are given out immediately. So, this is also another benefit of the Iowa caucus because it has a low cost.
7. A State’s Presidential Caucuses Is A Bragging-Right
For both parties, Iowa received enormous attention as one of their first primary states after New Hampshire and it showed the interest of presidential candidates in their respective parties. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that gives it importance in presidential elections.
8. Press Coverage Is High During The Iowa Caucuses
The political world’s attention is focused on Iowa, but no one knows why this small state has played such an important role in presidential politics for more than a century. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it so important.
If you recall, in 2012, for example, Rick Santorum upset Mitt Romney here and stole his front-runner status.
9. The Winner Of Iowa Caucus Has Usually Won The Nomination
The winner of the Iowa presidential caucuses has usually won the nomination in the past four caucuses. From Iowa Caucus winners, Barack Obama became president of the United States in 2008 after his win over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic caucus.
The same happened with George W Bush when he won the Republican caucus in 2000 and he won the Presidential election in 2000 general elections. So, this is another reason why Iowa Caucus is important for an election.
10. Iowa Caucus Is an Opportunity For Candidates To Assess Their Campaigns
Since the caucuses are so small and densely populated with activists, they give an early indication of how a candidate’s money and organization have translated into popular support. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it important for presidential elections.
11. A Candidate’s Iowa Caucus Strategy Can Help Him In The General Elections
Forward-looking candidates use the results of the Iowa caucus to shape their general election campaign strategies that is why it also comes under the benefit category i.e., even if a presidential candidate fails in this caucus, but his strategy gives him good insight on how he should approach the future primaries.
12. The Results From Iowa Caucus Impact Other States
Iowa caucus results have a huge impact on other states and their voters, everyone wants to know what will happen if this state votes for one candidate or another. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it important.
13. Candidates Who Do Well In Caucus Improve Their Chances Of Winning Later Primaries And Caucuses
A candidate who does well in a state’s caucuses usually does well in later primaries and caucuses, so he can use this momentum to do even better in upcoming states. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it important for presidential elections.
14. Support From Iowa Caucus Can Be Very Valuable In General Elections
Iowa is the first state to award the majority of its delegates in both parties’ presidential nominating process so support from this early state can provide a boost in later states. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it important for presidential elections.
15. Caucus Gives A Chance To See The Presidential Candidates In Person
Most candidates spend a lot of time in Iowa because this state offers a great opportunity to engage directly with voters and answer their questions before those voters make up their minds. So, this is also one of the benefits of the Iowa caucus that makes it important for presidential elections.
Importance Of Iowa Caucus -Conclusion
So, this is all about the importance of the Iowa caucus and why Iowa caucus is important for presidential elections. So, if you are looking for an early indicator of political trends, then better get yourself registered in next year’s caucuses and enjoy the same benefits as mentioned here in the article.
References
- https://www.npr.org/2020/01/30/800588703/how-the-iowa-caucuses-work-and-why-theyre-important
- https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/03/iowa-caucus-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-its-important.html
- https://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-iowa-caucuses-explained-20160131-htmlstory.html

Hello, I am Aatka Azhar. I have done bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Writing articles is my passion through which I explore so many things. So, I am using my passion by working here and it will be the source of knowledge for the readers.