Is the Iowa caucus important?
On One Hand: Building MomentumThe Iowa caucus is the first caucus of the primary campaign. The media boost that the winner of the caucus receives can catapult the candidate into the national spotlight. This is especially true for fringe candidates who may not have been receiving much attention prior to the Iowa caucus.On the Other: Minimal DelegatesIowa is a small state without many delegates to the winner. Because of this, some candidates ignore Iowa completely and focus their efforts on other states, especially if they do not expect to do well in Iowa.Bottom LineThe Iowa caucus can help to solidify a leading candidate or boost a relative unknown into the spotlight because of the intense media coverage the Iowa caucus receives. However, Iowa is just one small state so a strong showing in Iowa is not a guarantee of winning the nomination.Source:CFR: The Caucus System in the U.S.
