EXAMPLE PAGE - SCHOOL BROCHURE - DEMOCRACY - Flipbook - Page 44
RC
What was the highlight of your
time in Iowa?
AD
GPG
A GLIMPSE
INSIDE THE
IOWA CAUCUS
KF
PURDUE
INTERNS
Alyson DeHaai
Sophomore
General Management Major
Gerardo Pons de la Garza
(LA’20)
GPG
Andie Slomka
Junior
Genetics Major
Political Science Major
Communication Minor
I loved seeing the political rallies. I am from Mexico, so
I have not experienced this sort of political environment — to feel the energy and emotion in the room
when a candidate spoke, it was just something incredible to see.
Honestly, the people watching. So many interesting
and diverse groups of people came to campaign events,
and seeing them interact and express their different
and similar beliefs was fascinating.
What was election night like
on the ground?
RC
MEET THE
For me, the best part of the trip was getting to help
the C-SPAN news crews set up for different events and
watching how they prepare for them. They were incredible at adjusting on the fly, and it was a great chance to
watch how television news production works.
It was incredible to watch voters shuffle around the
voting hall (the school cafeteria) to support their candidate. And when certain candidates didn’t achieve
viability [15% support amongst caucus attendees], their
voters had to decide on a different candidate, so there
was significant lobbying going on.
My group went to a high school in West Des Moines
that had about 300 voters. The weird thing about the
caucus system — at my location at least — was that
there wasn’t a definitive end to the event. There were
a few reorganizations where voters switched candidates, but after the final count, people slowly started
to trickle out.
I was sent to a smaller caucus where around 50 people
voted. It went very fast! It was interesting to see how
neighbors and friends argued with each other. There
was an instance where we saw a husband and wife
arguing, and both had to send their kid to convince
each other to vote for the same candidate.
Political Science & Government Major
Kyle Foley
Junior
Political Science Major
Public Relations Major
Strategic Communication Major
Ray Couture
Junior
Mass Communication Major
42 PUR D U E A LUMNUS
Iowa
Caucus
101
How many states have caucuses?
The number has been decreasing
in recent years as more states opt
for primaries. Iowa, Nevada, North
Dakota, and Wyoming have caucuses. In Kentucky, the Republican
Party holds a caucus as well.
