For decades, Iowa had a special place in presidential politics. Every four years, candidates, campaigns, and reporters descended on our state because if you wanted to be president, Iowa was where you started.
And I loved it.
Right after graduating from the University of Iowa, I moved to Washington, D.C., a city full of transplants where everyone asks, “Where are you from?” When I said Iowa, I could often see people trying to place it on a map before the recognition kicked in: “Oh, Iowa. Of course. I’ve spent many Januarys there.”
I was proud of that. The Republican and Democratic Caucuses put our small state at the center of American politics and gave Iowans extraordinary access to presidential candidates, who showed up in our coffee shops, union halls, county fairs, and living rooms.
There was something genuinely special about it, and I’m glad I got to experience it.
But it’s time to let it go.
Questions about Iowa’s place at the front of the Democratic presidential nominating process had been building long before 2020. Iowa is small, largely rural and white, and not representative of the diversity of the Democratic electorate or the country. Then came the 2020 caucuses, when the technology designed to speed up reporting failed spectacularly.
The results were delayed for days, the process was a mess, and it certainly didn’t help Iowa’s case for staying first.
Now the national Democratic Party, and the country, has moved on, yet here we are once again hearing Iowa Democratic leaders talk about fighting our way back to the front of the presidential nominating calendar.
I understand why. First-in-the-nation status brought Iowa national attention, campaign spending, and political influence. There are plenty of people who profited from it and have spent years working to protect it.
I just wish we’d stop.
Because every bit of political energy we spend trying to recreate what Iowa used to be is energy we aren’t spending figuring out what Iowa could be next.
And frankly, we have plenty to figure out.
Iowa was once known nationally for the strength of our public education system. What would it take to make us a leader again? We have one of the highest cancer incidence rates in the country. What are we going to do about it? We talk constantly about keeping young people in Iowa, attracting businesses and growing our communities. What are we willing to do differently to actually make that happen?
Those questions matter far more to Iowa’s future than whether we get to vote first in a presidential election.
This is what frustrates me about the continued fight over the caucuses. It feels like another example of Iowa spending too much time trying to get back to where we were instead of figuring out where we’re going.
I’d rather see us looking around the country and asking which states are getting things right. I’d rather steal their good ideas, try some new ones of our own, admit when something isn’t working, and change course.
I want Iowa to be first again. I just don’t care if we’re first on the presidential calendar.
I want people around the country paying attention to Iowa because we’re doing something worth copying. I want us leading in education, public health, innovation, and opportunity. I want young people to see a future for themselves here and businesses to see Iowa as a place where new ideas are actually welcomed.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the Democratic Caucuses. I’ll always remember being that young Iowan in D.C., surprised and proud when someone actually knew something about my home state because they had spent a freezing January here chasing presidential candidates around.
That was a pretty great run. But it’s over.
Iowa has a lot of things worth fighting for. Getting our old spot back on the presidential calendar doesn’t need to be one of them.
Let’s spend that energy figuring out what Iowa can be first at next.
Bethany Snyder is chair of the Urbandale Civil Rights Commission and chair of the advocacy group One Iowa Action. She is founder of Central Iowa Rainbow Families.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Leadoff Democratic Caucuses aren’t coming back. Let them go. | Opinion
Reporting by Bethany Snyder, Guest columnist / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bethany Snyder, Guest columnist | USA TODAY Network
