In this inaugural edition of The Second Half/What's The Frequency, which follows The Exchange on Siouxland Public Media, we highlight an important political event that has made Iowa the focal point of the nation and world early in every fourth year.
The Iowa Caucuses is the first contest that helps the national Republican and Democratic parties begin to narrow down the field of presidential candidates ahead of the November election.
Many candidates start coming to Iowa a year or more out before the caucuses, making many stops in high population places like Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and here in Sioux City, plus lots of smaller towns too
Democratic President Joe Biden will almost certainly become that party’s nominee. Among the Republicans running in 2024 are former President Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramiswamy.
Now with the caucuses at hand, in this episode we will get some perspectives from two people with years of knowledge about the caucuses - - Bradley Best, a political science professor at the Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Suzan Stewart, a longtime official with the Woodbury County Republican Party.
Additionally, there have been groundbreaking changes to the Democratic Party process this year. Democrats will still have an in-person precinct caucuses at 7 p.m. January 15 to conduct traditional party business.
However, no Presidential preference will be taken at the in-person precinct caucuses, as that part has moved to a mail-in process. The last day to request a preference card is February 19, 2024, and the results of the mail-in Presidential preference will be released by the Iowa Democratic Party on March 5.
Click the audio link at the top to hear the episode.
* What's The Frequency, Episode 1.
