Iowa Democratic Chair Helps Prepare Local Caucus Officials For Big Night

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Dr. Andy McGuire

Oskaloosa, Iowa – On the marquee in Oskaloosa, a sign informs visitors that former Secretary of State and 2016 Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton will be arriving in Oskaloosa on Monday afternoon.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Dr. Andy McGuire was in town on Thursday to help the local party become better prepared to help Iowa Caucus goers on February 1st.

McGuire said that for the Iowa Democratic Party, getting the logistics of the caucus and all 1681 precincts in place with their packets, along with testing the reporting system to help insure timely and accurate results, is important.

McGuire added that helping people better understand and become more aware of the caucus is a part of her visits. “I try to tell them how easy it is to caucus, how great an opportunity this is,” and to get out and see and talk with the candidates.

For Democrats, McGuire believes they want to hear from their candidates about their thoughts on education and college affordability, along with “incomes that have not risen like maybe they should.”

Health care is another concern McGuire says she is hearing about, and the positive impacts the Affordable Care Act has had, and how a repeal may impact them.

Equal pay for equal work is another issue that McGuire says she is hearing about. “It comes up a lot. It just seems like it should be time for that.”

The countdown to the Iowa Caucus has candidates scrambling around the state in an effort to secure their place on caucus night. For many of those that will be attending and casting their vote for their candidate, the choice isn’t always easy.

Many Iowan’s are now very use to poking and prodding, questioning and researching the candidates that visit their coffee shops. A whole generation of Iowans have now grown up, groomed to engage, and eventually thin out, the field of candidates.

This caucus cycle in Iowa has been much different than most every other cycle, and McGuire agrees saying, “it’s not a typical caucus night.”

“I think people really feel like we need to have the right person in the White House, and I think Iowans especially are taking that very seriously, and listening to everybody,” is what is helping to make this caucus cycle different than most,” added McGuire.

For many in Iowa, that decision to support happens on caucus night when they sit down with their neighbors and talk about the candidates. “They all know it’s very important who we pick to lead our nation for the next four years,” added McGuire.

“We do this really well,” McGuire said of Iowans ability to weed out candidates. “That’s why we’re first in the nation. Because we do it so well. We ask tough questions, we ask follow up questions. We look them in the eye. It’s not a soundbite, it’s not something on TV. This is real and I think it’s very important. We’ve been doing it for years, we take it seriously and we do it really, really well.”