# NPR found Iowans who have never heard of the caucuses **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 8, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535 "2016-01-08T22:42:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/1 "2016-01-08T22:42:16Z")
Admittedly, I’m a political junkie (like, presumably, most everyone on the Elections sub-board), but I have a hard time understanding how even a politically disengaged person could live in Iowa and not have ever even \*heard \*of the caucuses. Srsly? 😕 > **[Why Iowa Has Caucuses And Why Iowans Vote First In Presidential Contests](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/462351771)** > > In less than a month, voters in Iowa will be first to choose who they want to be president. The Iowa caucuses have been first since 1972. How did this tradition get started? > [@](#): > > SANDERS: Have you ever caucused? > UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: I don’t think so. > SANDERS: You don’t think so? > UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I don’t know anything about this. I’m sorry. > SANDERS: So you don’t even know if you’ve caucused? > UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I don’t even know what a caucus is to tell you the truth. > […] > UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: I don’t even understand that word caucus. What does that mean - a cactus or what? > SANDERS: Down the street, same kind of answer. > So you’ve never heard of the caucuses? > MARIA LUNA: No (laughter). > JACKIE GUZMAN: It’s new. > SANDERS: It’s new? > GUZMAN: It’s new to us, yeah. > SANDERS: Why is it new to you? > GUZMAN: I never heard it, never heard the word. > SANDERS: Until right now? > GUZMAN: Yeah. > SANDERS: Wait, I was the first person to tell you the word caucus? > GUZMAN: Yeah. > (LAUGHTER) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/2 "2016-01-09T01:06:13Z")
A surprising number of people are uninformed or ill-informed about all sorts of things, either because they simply never learned it, or it wasn’t important to them, so it didn’t stick in their heads. Understanding a relatively obscure fact about the US political process requires a tremendous amount of engagement in the process, regardless of what state you live in. Honestly, I’d be surprised if the number of Iowans who didn’t know what the caucuses were was less than 10%. For reference, about 14% of US adults are illiterate. I realize that knowing a fact (what is a caucus) is different than having a skill (knowing how to read), but it’s a good threshold to keep in mind. How difficult must it be to be informed about the world if you can’t read? Did you know that the illiteracy rate was as high as it was? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/3 "2016-01-09T01:56:33Z")
Eh, everyone has gaps in what is thought to be basic knowledge. Hell, I am not really clear about half the stuff that happens on a farm. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/4 "2016-01-09T03:36:09Z")
Not too surprising. A caucus would only mean something to you if politics means something to you. There are actually a lot of people who aren’t just uninformed, but actively avoid anything having to do with politics. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/5 "2016-01-09T03:55:31Z")
Ha! Stupid foreigners, don’t even know what a caucus is! _U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!_ ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/6 "2016-01-09T04:29:05Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Did you know that the illiteracy rate was as high as it was? Not that I believe you’re wrong, but cite? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/7 "2016-01-09T13:06:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not too surprising. A caucus would only mean something to you if politics means something to you. There are actually a lot of people who aren’t just uninformed, but actively avoid anything having to do with politics. Oh, I know that. And I wouldn’t blink if they talked to (to cite my former and current states of residence) Minnesotans who were unaware of the caucus, or Missourians who don’t know anything about the primary. But in Iowa, for a year out of every four, politicians (and reporters) swarm all over the state and bombard the airwaves with advertising. These people they are talking to are not saying “oh yeah, that politics thing: I’m not really into that” or “I don’t care about politics, but I guess it’s good that all these out-of-state people come in and spend money here”. They just seem to be completely unaware of the very word. That’s not like being unaware of what exactly goes on in a farm, but more like living in one of the nation’s two most prominent farm states and never having _heard_ of a farm. “Farm? You mean like a _form_ you fill out at the doctor’s office?” ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/8 "2016-01-09T13:20:21Z")
> [@FightMyIgnorance](#): > > Not that I believe you’re wrong, but cite? It struck me as high also. The figure purports to come from a Department of Education study in 2013, but I can’t trace it beyond a [HuffPo](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/illiteracy-rate_n_3880355.html) link to something called the [Statistic Brain Research Institute](http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/), and don’t have time right now to dig deeper. (Got to get ready for work.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/9 "2016-01-09T14:22:33Z")
It sounds suspect to me. I don’t know Iowa but I have relatives in New Hampshire and they’ve told me you can’t avoid meeting presidential candidates if you venture out in public in the months before the primary. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/10 "2016-01-09T16:46:44Z")
New Hampshire is little and crowded. Iowa is big and empty, making it easier to miss candidates if you don’t get out much. A lot of people only watch CBN, the Hallmark Channel, and those retro TV channels, which don’t attract many political ads. I find it perfectly believable that many Iowans are unfamiliar with the caucuses. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/11 "2016-01-10T00:08:21Z")
This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. The government’s pageantry should be ignored by more regular folks. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/12 "2016-01-10T01:47:33Z")
I find this plausible, if you find somebody who just moved to Iowa for some reason from a state where they have primaries instead of caucuses. Do you know what a caucus is? Then describe how Iowa’s Democratic caucus works. (If I heard right, the Iowa Republican caucus is now a de facto primary; there’s a secret ballot at the start, and the national convention delegates are awarded proportionally to the total statewide vote.) ---
**Author:** ![EndlessEntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@EndlessEntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EndlessEntropy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/13 "2016-01-10T02:32:25Z")
Do people even still act like the Iowa caucus is a big deal? Pretty sure Santorum and Huckabee both won it and McCain made a poor showing in 2008. We won’t know until Super Tuesday who has a legitimate shot to win the respective nominations. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/14 "2016-01-10T03:16:45Z")
> [@EndlessEntropy](#): > > Do people even still act like the Iowa caucus is a big deal? Bachmann and Perry felt that the Iowa caucus in 2012 was a big deal. One dropped out; one reassessed. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/15 "2016-01-10T03:52:14Z")
I suspect that in any group of people, including people who are interested in politics, you would find large groups that have no idea what a caucus is. I follow some politics and watch C SPAN and even I don’t really know what a caucus is. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/16 "2016-01-10T05:23:06Z")
I agree with that in any of the 49 states that are not Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/17 "2016-01-10T05:34:02Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > New Hampshire is little and crowded. Iowa is big and empty, making it easier to miss candidates if you don’t get out much. I would say this is overstating the case a bit. New Hampshire ranks 21st in population density, with only 1/8 the density of New Jersey. Iowa is 36th in density, with eight times the density of Montana, nine times the density of Wyoming, and over 40 times the density of Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/18 "2016-01-10T11:15:28Z")
so, Iowa has folk with the mental capacity of Brendan Dassey in it? Of course Dassey is sympathetic in his current predicament, but NPR can snear at those who haven’t heard of a caucus. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/19 "2016-01-10T12:45:31Z")
How many of the political ads in Iowa mention the word caucus? Maybe they avoid the word for fear of reminding people how inconvenient it can be to vote. The equivalent question in Pennsylvania might be – can independents vote in most of our elections? Answer: No, they can only vote in half of them, those being the general elections held in November. People who don’t vote, or only vote in general elections for President, or maybe governor, will often be unaware of the candidate selection process. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535/20 "2016-01-10T18:12:38Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > How many of the political ads in Iowa mention the word caucus? Maybe they avoid the word for fear of reminding people how inconvenient it can be to vote. Seems like that would reduce the effectiveness of their advertising. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-found-iowans-who-have-never-heard-of-the-caucuses/742535.md?page=2)