[News Spot] Iowa, the US Presidential Election Barometer That Chose Trump

Iowa, the state that kicked off the U.S. presidential election race, is famous for its vast cornfields stretching endlessly along the expansive prairie plains. It borders six states: Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and covers an area of 145,746 km², slightly larger than South Korea. It is the largest corn-producing state in the U.S., with extensive agricultural regions, and 90% of its residents are white.

On the 15th (local time), former President Donald Trump gave a greeting at the Iowa caucus (party member meeting), the first Republican presidential primary in the United States, during a 'watch party'. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The state's name originates from the Iowa tribe of Native Americans who lived in the area. In 1673, French explorer Louis Jolliet and French missionary Jacques Marquette discovered the region. It was part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, controlled by France and Spain, until the U.S. government purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803, making it part of the United States. Subsequently, the Iowa Territory was established in 1838, and it was admitted as the 29th state of the U.S. in 1846.

Iowa has a population of about 3.2 million, accounting for only 1% of the total U.S. population, but it draws worldwide attention during the presidential election season. This is because both the Democratic and Republican parties have traditionally started their presidential candidate selection process with the Iowa caucus. A caucus is an internal party procedure where party members gather to select delegates who will represent them at the national convention. Party members meet by electoral district to discuss, form candidate support groups, and elect delegates, who then participate in the national convention to nominate the presidential candidate. The Democrats have held the first caucus in Iowa since 1972, and the Republicans since 1976.

However, in this election, the Democrats have changed their first primary state to South Carolina, where a primary election is held, making Iowa the first caucus state only for the Republicans. The Democrats plan to announce the results of their Iowa caucus by March 5, the so-called Super Tuesday, when 15 states holding mail-in caucuses will vote simultaneously.

On the 15th (local time), in the first Republican caucus of the U.S. presidential race held in Iowa, former President Donald Trump achieved a decisive victory. According to foreign media, with 85% of the votes counted, Trump received 50.9% of the vote, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis got 21.3%, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley received 19.1%.

Although the Iowa caucus is regarded as a "weathervane" during the presidential election season, the winner here has not always become the final nominee. For the Republicans, Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, won first place in 2008; Rick Santorum, former senator, in 2012; and Senator Ted Cruz in 2016, but none were ultimately nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. Former President Trump, who won first place with a majority vote in this year’s Iowa caucus, had previously placed second behind Senator Ted Cruz in 2016.