2024 Democratic Caucus

I counted 22 people present for the 2024 Democratic caucuses at Lakeview Elementary School on Jan. 15. Our location had five precincts. It was a good gathering of old friends. “Old” is the operative word. Age of participating Democrats is a problem for the Iowa Democratic Party. Well, that and this cohort is dying off, depleting our numbers. A couple of new faces were present, so that was good. We kept the embers of the Iowa Democratic Party going for another election year.

Our age was a constant companion during the caucuses. Doors opened at 5 p.m. for set up. People began arriving shortly after that for the 7 p.m. event. Set up didn’t take long and there was a lot of catching up to do. I talked more about Ohio politics than about Iowa. I noticed the average age of those present and was told to stop complaining and volunteer. We discussed the changes in door knocking over the years. One friend said if they went door knocking they would have to use their mother’s walker to get around. Someone suggested the reception at the doors might be better if they did.

The state party has kept the mail-in presidential preference vote a virtual secret. A few long-time Democrats at the caucus didn’t know what to do to get a ballot. We remedied that right away. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette last Friday only about 8,000 ballots had been requested statewide. When we consider there were 176,352 initial alignment votes in the 2020 presidential preference vote, the response this year is underwhelming.

There were three of us in the Big Grove caucus. I chaired and made quick work of party business. We elected myself as chair and a friend as secretary. No one wanted to be on the county central committee and we only elected one of three delegates to the county convention. No one volunteered for convention committee work, except I told the organizer for the arrangements committee I would help at the convention. She was in another precinct at our site. I read the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement to meet the requirement. We signed, sealed, and delivered the documents to the box destined to go to the county seat that evening.

The weather was cold, yet not that bad. The roads were plowed and although there was some ice on them, an experienced driver could navigate safely. Weather was not what kept Democrats away from the caucuses. The Washington Post released an article about the issues. Here’s a taste of it:

At this time in 2020, Democrats held three of Iowa’s four congressional seats. They had three statewide elected officials, and they were just kicking off the Democratic presidential nominating process.

Four years later, Iowa Democrats have no representatives in Congress, only one statewide elected official — the state auditor — and their prized spot at the head of the nominating calendar has been ripped away from them.

Beyond that, they have seen former president Donald Trump twice carry the state by comfortable margins after victories in 2008 and 2012 by Barack Obama.

“It has been painful for Democrats in Iowa,” said Scott Brennan, a former chair of the state party.

As Iowa Republicans began their party’s presidential nominating process with Monday’s caucuses, many Democrats concede that their party has hit rock bottom. The state, once a presidential battleground, has joined Ohio, also a longtime swing state, in moving to the right. Few expect the Democrats to be competitive in Iowa in the presidential race in November.

Iowa Democrats look to rebuild after election losses, caucus downgrade by Tyler Pager and Dan Balz, Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2024.

Our group of oldsters kept a party on life support going for another little while. I don’t agree we hit “rock bottom,” yet one could see it from the 2024 Democratic precinct caucuses.