One Thing’s for Sure About Iowa—New Hampshire Is Next
Boxes of voter registration forms in a Democratic Party office in Des Moines.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
The Iowa caucuses usually play a critical role in the presidential primary process by testing the candidates, winnowing the field, and slingshotting the top two or three finishers to national prominence. The results coming out of Iowa often shape the national narrative for the rest of the race. But this year’s app-induced fiasco, which produced a low-confidence split decision between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, won’t even fulfill that basic function. The only certainty coming out of Iowa was that all of the candidates are now going on to New Hampshire.
Instead of clarifying questions of viability and moving the party forward in settling on a nominee, it did the opposite.