Why Iowa?: How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process

David P. Redlawsk, Caroline J. Tolbert, Todd Donovan

University of Chicago Press, 2011 - Political Science - 314 pages

If Barack Obama had not won in Iowa, most commentators believe that he would not have been able to go on to capture the Democratic nomination for president. Why Iowa? offers the definitive account of those early weeks of the campaign season: from how the Iowa caucuses work and what motivates the candidates’ campaigns, to participation and turnout, as well as the lingering effects that the campaigning had on Iowa voters. Demonstrating how “what happens in Iowa” truly reverberates throughout the country, five-time Iowa precinct caucus chair David P. Redlawsk and his coauthors take us on an inside tour of one of the most media-saturated and speculated-about campaign events in American politics.

Considering whether a sequential primary system, in which early, smaller states such as Iowa and New Hampshire have such a tremendous impact is fair or beneficial to the country as a whole, the authors here demonstrate that not only is the impact warranted, but it also reveals a great deal about informational elements of the campaigns. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this sequential system does confer huge benefits on the nominating process while Iowa’s particularly well-designed caucus system—extensively explored here for the first time—brings candidates’ arguments, strengths, and weaknesses into the open and under the media’s lens.

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User Review  - shabbyrabbit - LibraryThing

It has it's place but politics is probably the least favorite thing I could ever read about. The writing was actually fine :) thanks goodness!

Contents

• II Caucus Rules: 43
• III Sequential Voting Rules: 139
• IV Changing the Rules: 211
• Multivariate Tables for Chapter 7: 257
• Multivariate Tables for Chapter 8: 261
• Multivariate Tables for Chapter 9: 265
• Multivariate Tables for Chapter 10: 269
• Notes: 273
• References: 289
• Index: 303

About the author

David P. Redlawsk is professor of political science and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University. Caroline J. Tolbert is professor of political science at the University of Iowa. Todd Donovan is professor of political science at Western Washington University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Why Iowa?: How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process
• Authors: David P. Redlawsk, Caroline J. Tolbert, Todd Donovan
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0226706966, 9780226706962
• Length: 314 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / General; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections