Iowa voters jolted the U.S. political system with a strong bipartisan message of change Thursday as record numbers of young people and first-time attendees packed party caucuses.
Most immediate post-caucus commentary focused on how Republicans dethroned former front-runner Mitt Romney in favor of evangelical pastor Mike Huckabee while Democrats likewise bypassed Hillary Clinton to anoint Barack Obama.
In this ultra-compressed political cycle, the action already has shifted to New Hampshire, where voters have just three days left to either confirm the judgments of Iowans or, as Granite State voters often do, reverse them. But it would be wrong to move on from Iowa without first noting the upsurge of voter participation in both parties.
Republicans tallied more than 116,000 voters, up 30 percent from the 87,000 who showed up for the last contested GOP caucuses in 2000. That’s an impressive turnout — but it pales in comparison to the 239,000 voters who thronged to the Democratic gatherings, nearly double that party’s previous record.
The Democratic outpouring is even more impressive given that the two parties are roughly equal in Iowa, with about 600,000 registered Democrats and some 550,000 Republicans. Clearly, Democrats not only did a better job of energizing their core constituencies, they also brought in a huge influx of independent voters — an optimistic augury for their chances in November.
Fifty-seven percent of Democratic caucus-goers were participating for the first time, and Obama captured 41 percent of them, compared to 29 percent for Clinton. Obama also carried independents by more than 2 to 1 against Clinton.
Iowa Democrats also uncovered a generational fault line similar to the one that Colorado Sen. Gary Hart initially exploited in his 1984 campaign against Walter Mondale. Hillary Clinton, 59, and John Edwards, 53, are members of the baby-boom generation that has dominated American politics since Bill Clinton — then 46 — ousted the last World War II veteran, George H.W. Bush, from the White House in 1992. Obama, 45, ran strongest with voters under 30, who backed him by better than 5 to 1.
That confounded expectations of political analysts given younger voters’ usual dismal record of political participation. But Thursday, more than 46,000 people aged 17 to 29 went to the Democratic caucuses, about 20 percent of the total.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Iowans of both political persuasions voted their hearts, not some abstract concept of “electability.” Sixty percent of Huckabee backers said the most important quality in picking a candidate was someone who shared their values, not electability. Likewise, only 20 percent of Democratic caucus-goers said experience was the most important factor, compared to 51 percent who wanted “change.”
Whatever else happens in the weeks ahead, Iowans can be said to have re-created a note of hope and optimism in a political system mired in distrust and cynicism.
