Iowa caucuses land at Marquette University
‘More camera people than caucusgoers’
Welcome to the Iowa caucuses, Wisconsin-style.
Just a mile from where Democrats will proclaim their presidential nominee at Fiserv Forum in July, seven Iowa Democrats gathered Monday night in a basement room at Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union.
They were there to participate in a satellite caucus, as Iowa took its firstin-the-nation presidential contest to 13 states, Washington, D.C., and three countries.
It had all the trappings of an Iowa caucus, just not as many people.
It was homespun, low-key and bound to tradition with a working script.
Cooper Warner, 23, a Marquette law student from West Des Moines, Iowa,
dropped in to the caucus on her way to an intramural soccer game.
She was dressed in sweats, and her eyes widened as she entered the basement room.
“The caucus I went to previously had 300 people,” she said. “There are more camera people than caucusgoers here. It’s crazy.”
Joe Martin, 33, an automation service tech who lives in Des Moines, was in Milwaukee on business.
This caucus was sure going to be different.
“Instead of 100 people in your group, you need just two,” Martin said.
In a way, the caucus was a little like spring training for Jason Rae, a Wisconsin native who is Secretary of the Democratic National Committee.
In the summer, Rae will be calling the roll of states at the convention. His office is also responsible for certifying the approximately 5,000 delegates that will attend the event.
But on this winter night, he was standing in as chair of the precinct.
“I think there’s lots of enthusiasm,” Rae said, noting that people showed up to observe and advocate for candidates.
“I’ve run party meetings. The unique part is you don’t know the outcome, you don’t know what the result will be,” he said.
As the caucus got underway at precisely 7 p.m., Rae told the audience, “This is historic.”
The campaigns made their best pitches, speakers getting a minute each to boost their candidates.
The caucus-goers heard from representatives of former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and businessman Andrew Yang.
Walter Wilson, a retiree, was a Sanders
delegate in 2016.
“What I wanted to make sure is I got some key points across that Bernie Sanders is part of a movement, not a political agenda or ideology,” he said.
And then, the seven Iowans made their choices.
There were no ballots to cast. Instead, they were instructed to gather into groups around the room by the name of their favored candidate.
“They suggest 15 to 20 minutes, but I think with seven of you we can align in five minutes,” Rae said.
It moved quickly.
Two people for Klobuchar. Two for Sanders. And three for Warren.
The caucus was awarded what are called four delegate equivalents to a county caucus to be held later this year. Klobuchar and Sanders received one delegate each. And Warren received two.
“It’s a very private process here,” Marquette student Maaz Ahmed of Bettendorf, Iowa, joked as he stood for Sanders.
It was over in 22 minutes. Ahmed, who was instrumental in bringing the caucus to Marquette, said the experience was “cool.”
“It went way faster than I expected,” he said. “It was nice.”
But Ahmed, who backed Sanders, said the caucus was a little “antiquated.”
“I think the importance placed on the Iowa caucus is a little misguided because I don’t think Iowa is the best representation of the nation,” he said. “But ultimately I still think that overall this is a really, really great opportunity that we have to make a difference in our country.”
Eric Rorholm, chair of the Marquette College Democrats, couldn’t vote in the caucus — he’s from Washington state. But he was delighted with the event. “I was floored by the amount of interest, coverage and excitement around this event,” Rorholm said. “It was beyond anything I could have imagined. Voter enthusiasm is high, and that is really, really important.”