DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa caucuses and their outsize importance have largely been an exercise in myth-making. The idea was that candidates could earn a path to the White House by meeting voters in person, and earnest, civic-minded Midwesterners would actually stand for their candidate. As the caucuses have played out, the flaws have become increasingly glaring. First, the state’s Democrats botched the count in 2020, leaving an embarrassing muddle. But there were more. Since 2008, the state’s political makeup has changed dramatically, from a reliable swing state to solidly Republican. And with the Democratic Party increasingly becoming a party of diversity, Iowa’s lack of it left the state without much of a rationale for leading the way.
Iowa caucuses, built on myth, lose place at head of the line
