Todd Prichard is a former Iowa House minority leader and the last elected rural Democrat to serve in the Iowa House. He currently lives in Charles City and serves as the Floyd County Attorney. Ann Prichard teaches fifth grade in the Charles City Public School District.

Iowa’s Democratic Party is at a critical crossroads. Do Iowa Democrats throw in the towel and concede the first-in-the-nation caucuses, or do we unite to regain our rightful place in the political calendar? We argue that we fight to maintain our status for both the health of the Iowa Democratic Party and for the electability of Democratic presidential candidates.

Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus is a good fit for both the state and the nation. Iowa Democrats have a rich history of picking qualified progressive candidates. We take this responsibility seriously, showing the candidates Iowa Nice with a healthy dose of Midwest skepticism. This makes Iowa an ideal place for nationwide candidates to test messages and learn about rural issues.

As important as it is for the nation, the caucus is also vital for the Iowa Democratic Party. We benefit from the enthusiasm and civic engagement that national campaigns bring. At its core, the caucus is gritty local retail politics that forces candidates to organize their respective parties and engage with voters; it is the type of small “d” democratic political engagement that the Founding Fathers would be proud of.

For Iowa Democrats, the caucus keeps us in the game. The state party needs the organizing manpower and resources that come with the presidential campaign’s journey throughout the state. We need the discussions, activity, and energy that the caucuses bring to balance the Republican Party Caucus, which will continue to be first in the nation.

We have heard two arguments against fighting for the first caucuses. The first criticism is that everyone must attend in person. However, just as we have made accommodations for voters with mobility issues, we can make the caucuses more inclusive through mail-in ballots and remote participation.

The second argument is that caucuses take attention away from local races. This couldn’t be further from the truth: attention to national campaigns increases voter turnout.  

The Democratic National Committee has made it abundantly clear that they are not interested in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status. After Joe Biden finished in fourth in Iowa in 2020, the first nominating contest for 2024 was given to South Carolina. More recently, Iowa lost its seat on the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.

Calling out the DNC does not mean that we are distancing ourselves from the Democratic Party and its rich history of serving as the nation’s conscience. It is with that thought in mind that we must defy the national party to do what is right for both the state and the country. Not field testing nationwide presidential hopefuls will result in candidates with limited appeal. That in turn will make the electoral college map harder for Democrats. A competitive candidate in Iowa should also be competitive in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

This leads to our final point: to quote a former presidential candidate who later went on to win, “It’s the economy, stupid,” not the identity politics designed to appeal to elite donors. We witnessed a disturbing trend in Democratic circles while Todd was in the Iowa legislature, and now as we travel the state and country: Democratic Party activists are no longer engaging with working-class voters. This needs to change, and the Iowa caucuses are the ideal mechanism to focus candidates on the pocketbook issues people care about. After all, the caucuses are the grassiest of any grassroots politics.

It is time for Iowa Democrats to stick up for ourselves. We need candidates to come to Iowa, sharpen their messages with the help of engaged activists and audiences, and develop candidate platforms that have broad appeal. That is how they will win. 

If you have an opinion on this issue, take the survey (which will be available online through November 15, 2025), and tell the Iowa Democratic Party that Iowa needs to be first again.

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Editor’s note: Bleeding Heartland welcomes guest commentaries on the future of the Iowa Democratic caucuses. Please reach out to Laura Belin if you are interested in writing.