Iowa caucus insights with Dr. Dennis Goldford

Dr. Dennis Goldford, an authority on the Iowa Caucuses, joined Arizona Horizon to provide insights from Des Moines. Discussing the biennial electoral events, he emphasized their unique nature, where Iowans gather locally to discuss and vote on candidates.

With an impressive background, including co-authoring “The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event,” Dr. Goldford shed light on the challenges faced by candidates, particularly against former President Trump, who boasts a robust ground operation in Iowa.

However, following the caucus, Dr. Goldford did not see any surprises in the results.

“Everybody thought this was Trump’s to lose,” Dr. Goldford said. “He’s got a solid support in the Iowa Republican Party.”

Dr. Goldford explained the race was only for second place, an alternative option other than Trump.

“This is a very distant second place,” Dr. Goldford said. “The general strategy, at least for DeSantis, was to emerge as the alternative to Donald Trump, and that meant trying to defeat the rest of the field. That hasn’t gone so well for him so far.”

Trump won 51% of the votes in Iowa, and while it is interesting to point out that the other 49% want someone new in office, Dr. Goldford doesn’t doubt that Trump will still get the votes if he emerges as the Republican nominee later this year.

Now “the road show,” dubbed by Dr. Goldford, moves on to New Hampshire and South Carolina.