Iowa Caucus–Whose Side Are You On?
According to uspresidentialelectionnews.com, the Iowa Caucus was held on February 1, 2016. The caucuses are an event where voters from all of 1,774 Iowa voting precincts meet to elect delegates to the county conventions.
From the county convention, of which there are exactly 99, delegates are chosen for the state party convention. Eventually, the state party convention elects delegates to attend the national party convention, where a Presidential nominee is selected.
The process is similar for both Democrat and Republican candidates. The winner of the Iowa caucus receives the most delegates elected to the county convention, which then elects delegates for that candidate to the state convention, and eventually, to the national convention.
The Republican Caucus resulted in Ted Cruz winning, with 27.6 percent of the votes. Donald Trump came in second place, with 24.3 percent followed by Marco Rubio, with 23.1 percent.
The Democratic Caucus resulted in virtually a tie between the top two candidates. Hillary Clinton earned 49.9 percent of the votes and Bernie Sanders earned 49.6 percent. Martin O’Malley only rung in .6 percent.
Mia Rocco, a senior at Arrowhead said, “I thought it was really important in legitimizing Bernie Sanders’ campaign and identifying who will likely lead the Republican party.”
According to CNN.com, supporters of Clinton won’t have as strong of bragging rights in the upcoming caucus’ as expected because of a close outcome. This will leave them less confident, allowing Sanders’ supporters to have a better expectation.
“I am so thrilled,” Clinton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview minutes later. “My luck was not that good last time around, and it was wonderful to win the caucus, to have that experience.”
Taylor Stoll, a senior at Arrowhead said, “It was amazing that Clinton and Sanders were so close in delegates and that Ted Cruz won. I feel Cruz and Trump shouldn’t even be running for president.”
According to usatoday.com, “We are not waiting any longer to take our country back,” Rubio said. “I will be your nominee thanks to what you have done in this great state.”
Diya Ramanathan, a senior at Arrowhead said, “I don’t want Trump to win. To be honest I don’t really like any of the candidates this year. None of their beliefs really line up with mine.”
