The Iowa Caucuses

Smaller in population than several U.S. cities, the state of Iowa has become an unexpected and unparalleled proving ground for would-be presidential candidates. The Iowa caucuses provide a unique brand of retail politics, on the decline in an age of multi-million dollar advertising blitzes. Potential candidates have gone to extraordinary lengths to impress Iowa’s voters, dying their hair, changing their wardrobes, posing—and giving speech after speech. This book chronicles the most important events of each Iowa caucus since 1972 and reveals how the unassuming Midwestern state came to be an unlikely powerhouse in presidential politics.

John C. Skipper, a political reporter for the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, has written numerous books on politics and baseball, including a history of the The Iowa Caucuses and acclaimed biographies of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dazzy Vance and Charlie Gehringer.

John C. Skipper
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: 34 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4001-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5713-7
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Introduction      7

One—1964      13

Two—1968      24

Three—1972      30

Four—1976      41

Five—1980      53

Six—1984      67

Seven—1988      78

Eight—1992      94

Nine—1996      99

Ten—2000      109

Eleven—2004      126

Twelve—2008      142

Thirteen—The Media Influence      162

Fourteen—Thirty-Six Years of High Expectations      169

Appendix A: The Record Book      177

Appendix B: The Participants      178

Appendix C: Year by Year      180

Chapter Notes      183

Bibliography      194

Index      199