Why is Iowa and New Hampshire so important in the Presidental election?
The Iowa caucuses were usually the first “events” in the presidential primaries, with New Hampshire close behind, so a win in these two states could always give a dark horse candidate sudden national visibility. Cynics like me believe that’s why we spend so much on ethanol! Iowa is corn country, so whether it makes economic, energy or environmental sense, we spend tons of money on ethanol subsidies (also known around Washington as the Archer-Daniels-Midland subsidies, since that’s the company who is the “family farmer” politicians are always so fond of, to the tune of about 80% of the ethanol bucks). And both Iowa and New Hampshire are relatively small states, with relatively small populations, so it’s possible for even an underfunded and little-known candidate to get out and talk to enough voters, shake enough hands and attend enough town hall meetings to get himself known without a massive campaign war chest.
The Iowa caucuses were usually the first “events” in the presidential primaries, with New Hampshire close behind, so a win in these two states could always give a dark horse candidate sudden national visibility. Cynics like me believe that’s why we spend so much on ethanol! Iowa is corn country, so whether it makes economic, energy or environmental sense, we spend tons of money on ethanol subsidies (also known around Washington as the Archer-Daniels-Midland subsidies, since that’s the company who is the “family farmer” politicians are always so fond of, to the tune of about 80% of the ethanol bucks). And both Iowa and New Hampshire are relatively small states, with relatively small populations, so it’s possible for even an underfunded and little-known candidate to get out and talk to enough voters, shake enough hands and attend enough town hall meetings to get himself known without a massive campaign war chest. It is actually written into the campaign rules of each major party that can
