Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democratic Party leaders have developed a new plan for the 2028 Iowa Caucuses, hoping national party leaders will put Iowa back in a lead-off position for the next presidential election.
In an interview with The Des Moines Register, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart indicated two big changes will be proposed to answer critics. First, all participants will indicate their presidential preferences on paper — just like Iowa Republicans do.
That gets rid of having Iowa Democrats stand, divide into groups on Caucus Night to show support for candidates and then wait until the much maligned math process is done. That math determines whether a second round of that style of voting is necessary because a candidate doesn’t have enough support in the room.
Hart also told The Register the party can no longer restrict participation to “one cold night” and will propose an early voting system so Democrats can indicate their presidential preferences by mail. That answers critics who say many Iowans cannot participate in the Caucuses because of work, family or personal conflicts.
Iowa Democrats will present these ideas at a meeting of national Democrats that starts tomorrow (Wednesday) in Washington, D.C. Iowa is among a dozen states hoping to secure one of four or five early voting slots in the 2028 presidential election.
Iowa Democrats lost their first-in-the-nation position after data collection problems led to a delay in the results of their 2020 Iowa Caucuses.
Iowa Republicans maintained their first-in-the-nation slot in 2024 and party leaders indicate they’re poised to be in that position again in 2028.
