Presidential Debates And Iowa Caucus Goers
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz during a a campaign stop in Oskaloosa, Iowa on October 14, 2015.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Iowa Caucuses will be held on Monday, February 1st.
In Iowa, the Caucus is serious, and the people of Iowa have become very good at poking and prodding presidential hopefuls as they work the soapboxes around the state.
For Republicans, the field is still very full with candidates, something that is different than elections past. Also different is a single candidate either leading or continuing to show strong numbers. The field usually bubbles up a new candidate every other week until caucus goers have finally made up their minds.
Currently, Ted Cruz is showing well in Iowa, followed closely by Donald Trump, who is leading nationally. Cruz is enjoying the benefits of his teams groundwork in the state, and an endorsement from Bob Vander Plaats, who is the President and CEO of The Family Leader.
At a recent Cruz CNN debate watch party, supporters said that they were happy with the way the Republican candidates were defecting “the stupid questions and making them real questions so that we have some substantive answers instead of a Democratic propaganda piece,” said one of the watch party members. “It’s just ridiculous some of the things they are asking them about.”
Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina picked up several supporters in the group of Cruz voters, who said her answers were well thought out and she was fluid in her response to the questions. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in anybody’s cabinet,” said another watch party participant.
Fiorina relegation to a cabinet member isn’t unusual with how Iowa Caucus voters are viewing the process of picking candidates, particularly in the Republican field.
One of the complaints heard is that the personalities are overcoming the policy, but there are some Iowa voters who say it’s a combination of the personality and policy that will help to make the leader, and ultimately their choice in who they pick.
Not making many waves in the state for Republicans this time around are a pair of former Iowa Caucus winners, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. Both candidates have carried the conventional Republican banner, but this time around voters seem to be searching for something different.
The same can be said for the Democratic field of Candidates. Bernie Sanders is an unconventional Democrat candidate who has enjoyed a boost from younger voters who appreciate his message.
Hillary Clinton is leading in Iowa, despite several bumps in the road.
For Democrats, the debates haven’t been as big of a draw as for the Republicans. Their choice in time slots has diminished viewership, and political infighting between the Sanders campaign, Hillary campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over access to voter lists have caused a diversion and an issue for the party.
“The final Democratic debate of the year certainly went out with a bang. I argue that it was another consistently strong performance by Secretary Clinton and the best performance yet by Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O’Malley. With that being said, and fully disclosing my support for Governor O’Malley, I feel that his performance was disappointing. He attempted to contrast himself with the other two candidates on the stage, in sometimes very aggressive ways, but the moments felt scripted and forced,” said Bob Leonard, an Iowa college student.
“There were a number of interesting dialogues between Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton, ranging from ISIS and Assad to welfare and corporate America. A moment where people were anticipating a vibrant discussion, the recent Sanders campaign data breach, was rather dull. I was hoping that Sanders or O’Malley would call it for what it really was; an attempt by the DNC to undermine the Democratic nomination process. The suspension of data privileges to the Sanders campaign and the multiple (with what use to be rare) occurrences of Saturday debates, there is no doubt that the DNC is rigging the system to give Hillary Clinton the best chance possible. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schulz needs to resign and an independent investigation conducted,” Leonard added.
The 500 lb gorilla in the room, that no strategist is really talking about, is what impact Donald Trump will play in pulling Democrat voters to his camp, let alone the Independent voters. At nearly all Trump events you find many Democrat voters there, who openly support the Republican candidate.
According to Real Clear Politics, as of December 20th, Clinton beats Trump and/or Cruz according to most polls, while a surging Marco Rubio defeats Clinton.
Iowan’s aren’t done poking and questioning the candidates yet, and the week before the actual caucus will be critical for a campaign to be showing well.
