The Communique

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Scott Kintzel Democratic caucus goers at district 31-CR cast their vote on a resolution to accept the official ballet count of interest group numbers on Jan. 3.

Iowa caucus goers opened the political floodgates on Jan. 3 and started what has become a neck and neck race between the candidates of both main parties. With the importance of this presidential election candidates went out to make sure they brought in as many new supporters as possible, many of which were from Kirkwood Community College.

"I just went mainly to see what it was all about," said Dede Hobbs, Liberal Arts, when speaking about her motivation to attend the caucuses. Hobbs voiced concerns about the organization of the caucus, a concern that was echoed by other Kirkwood students. Derek Boeding, business administration and theatre, said he went to the caucuses with more foresight about what would be happening by "doing online research and talking with people who had already gone to the caucuses."

At the end of the night Mike Huckabee had the most delegates among the Republican presidential hopefuls while Barack Obama was the clear winner among the Democratic candidates. However, since the Iowa caucuses it is clear that the presidential race is still far from being decided as the lead candidates trade victories over states.

The Iowa caucuses gained national spotlight because it holds the Democratic and Republican caucuses before any other state in the nation and hopeful candidates campaign excessively in an attempt to gain a leg up on their competition. With the increased attention candidates helped draw out many first time Kirkwood student caucus goers along with an array of important issues ranging from the Iraq war to the economy.

"Being involved in the Obama campaign has made me a better citizen," said Precinct Captain and Kirkwood Professor Helen Grunewald when speaking about the prep work she did for the Iowa caucuses. She said she started preparing a month before the actual event. Prep work included trying to persuade community members to caucus by going door to door and the work continues on as candidates prepare for Super Tuesday, Feb. 5 when 22 states will hold their caucuses.

The events of the night unfolded with caucus goers first taking care of mundane party business and then voters broke up into support groups and an official poll was taken to find the support each follower received.

A round of realignment took place where voters could change which seemed to be where the events organization suffered. "It was very chaotic but structured enough to get the voting done," said Boeding when commenting on how the various rounds of realignment went through out the night, also describing it as slightly awkward. The night ended with a vote to accept the official count.

When all was said and done the caucus exit polls showed a record number of new voters caucusing this year, a number which no doubt was given a boost by students at Kirkwood who decided to get involved in the democratic process.

With no clear cut leader among either the Democratic or Republican candidates, support is still needed by candidates as the campaign trail heats up in the months to come.

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