Iowans in Valley support Klobuchar
Participants comprise largest satellite caucus outside Hawkeye State
Iowans who escaped the snow and cold in the winter — and some who just stopped in Arizona on vacation or attend college in the area — voted in the first-in-the-nation caucuses Monday, more than 1,000 miles away from their home state.
About 160 Iowans turned out in Queen Creek to vote for their preferred Democratic candidates. The gathering at a movie theater was the largest cau- cus site outside the state of Iowa, the site’s chairwoman said.
A college freshman said she was excited to caucus for the first time, while longtime voters said they were grateful to have a site in town that connected them to home.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar netted the most votes at the caucus site, with 54. After that came South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, with 41, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 33 and Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 31.
The 15% threshold needed for candidates to be considered viable was 25 votes. Several candidates, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, got some votes, but not enough to meet that standard.
The vote counts meant Klobuchar got three delegates, while Buttigieg, Warren and Biden got 2 each.
Four caucus sites in Arizona
In a large Harkins movie theater on the outskirts of metro Phoenix, the predominantly white and older crowd sat in groups that aligned with their preferred candidate.
This marks the first year of out-ofstate caucus locations for Iowa Democrats. There are also dozens of in-state satellite caucuses, expanding on an idea the party first used in 2016. They include
sites on college campuses, assisted living centers and work locations.
The sites are designed to increase participation in the caucuses and provide more accessible options for Iowans.
Arizona is hosting four of these sites, out of 24 worldwide in places like Paris, the country of Georgia, Scotland and New York City.
Joan Koenigs, the chairwoman of the satellite site near Phoenix, had planned to hold the event in her San Tan Valley home.
“What I expected to be a small caucus of 20 or 30 people I already knew has certainly mushroomed,” she told the crowd before voting began.
Several voters said they had multiple candidates they could comfortably support. They focused on a critical question beyond just which candidate they personally liked: Who can beat Donald Trump in November?
The Queen Creek movie theater was one of four such sites in Arizona. Florida also has four. The two states have the most satellite caucus locations outside of Iowa, a likely sign of the prevalence of snowbirds in both.
In Arizona, Iowans also planned to caucus at a private home and a library in Tucson and retirement community in Green Valley. The Queen Creek site started earlier than the others and wrapped at around 5:30 p.m.
Iowans had to be registered Democrats and pre-register to participate at a satellite location to caucus out of state Monday. Nearly 200 pre-registered at the Queen Creek site.
For these out-of-state sites, the results will be reported as an “at-large” satellite caucus county that will be added to the state convention and weighted by the number of participants in those caucuses, according to the Iowa Democratic Party.
Dems focus on defeating Trump
Jaia Rosenfels, who is from Iowa City and plans to be a snowbird soon, was traveling in Arizona. She had been upset at the prospect of missing the caucus, a rite of passage for politically inclined Iowans.
“If you’re political and you’re informed, you caucus,” she said.
She supported Warren because she finds her “really, really smart” and approachable. Natalie Murphy, an Arizona State University student from Iowa, spoke in support of Buttigieg. Murphy stood out in the crowd of older folks, many of whom were retirees.
She said it was her first time voting and caucusing, and she chose Buttigieg because he has a hopeful vision. She liked his military experience and Midwestern roots, saying he aligns well with Iowa values.
Marti Wade and Ben Ullem said they were ecstatic they would be able to participate in the caucus, the first presidential cycle since they became snowbirds. Wade said she considered flying back to Iowa to participate before she found out about the satellite sites.
They’re all in for Klobuchar. Wade wore a bright green shirt that said “Amy Klobuchar will beat Donald Trump” and gave a 1-minute speech before voting began about why people should chose the Minnesota senator.
Klobuchar relates to people well, has won counties in Minnesota that Trump carried and has experience, Wade said. Electability played a big part in their decision as well.
They’re residents of Des Moines, where they’re used to seeing candidates and the media circus, an exciting part of the first-in-the-nation vote. With the satellite caucuses, they’re still able to be a part of the excitement, they said.
They’re getting to know more Iowans in Arizona, too — few, if any, of the people at the caucus were people they’d known previously, the north Scottsdale snowbirds said.
Michael Bean has never missed a caucus. The satellite site at the movie theater is more comfortable than the last time he caucused, at a junior high school cafeteria where he sat on a tile floor for hours. Here, they have plush chairs and plenty of space.
He and his wife, Diane DePhillips, sat first with the Biden camp. Bean believes Biden has the respectability both in the U.S. and abroad to lead. People know what they’re getting with Biden; at this time, boring and predictable is a “very appealing thing,” he said.
DePhillips was torn between Biden and Klobuchar. They both like Buttigieg, too. If the decision was who should debate Trump head to head, Buttigieg would be great at that, they said.
Right now, they’re focusing on who can win the general election.