For news junkies, the first two months of the new decade have proven to be an unforgiving political tour de force: the third impeachment trial in our nation’s history began and finished, there will have been four democratic debates by the end of February, the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary took place, and President Trump delivered the annual State of the Union Address. All that can be overwhelming even to the most seasoned political veterans.
The Iowa Caucus took place on Feb. 3, officially kicking off presidential primary season for the Republicans and Democrats. This time around in 2020, Democrats appear to be the main focus, as the Democratic party has a wide pool of different candidates, while the Republican party is content supporting the incumbent President Donald Trump. Caucuses function differently from the typical voting primary. For the Iowa Caucus, it essentially comes down to voters gathering at caucus sites (schools, churches, public libraries…) and moving around to corners of a room to indicate their support for a particular candidate. A candidate must get support from at least 15% of attendees to be considered “viable,” and move into the next round of voting. If that candidate fails to meet the threshold, supporters in that candidate’s corner must move to another viable candidate’s corner or form a “viable preference group” with other supporters of non-viable candidates. Once all the results are tallied, a winner will be declared. Since 2000, the Democratic winner of the Iowa Caucus has gone on to win the formal nomination of the party.
On caucus night in Iowa, Pete Buttigieg (the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana) made a remarkably bold claim: “You have shocked the nation. By all indications, we are going onto New Hampshire victorious.” Buttigieg declared victory, and his early victory lap was called “the most millennial move he could pull” by the the television personality Meghan McCain. His surprise announcement was so shocking because, at the moment of his declaration, no voting precincts had reported the results. But Buttigieg was right: he won two more votes than Bernie Sanders, giving him 26.2% of the votes and the victory, and leaving Sanders with 26.1% and a media blackout.
Additionally, a new app developed and released by the party crashed on caucus night. When precinct workers switched to old-fashioned phone calls, the phone lines backed up, leading to even more delays. Precincts in Iowa slowly started reporting, but not before anyone following the nomination process was able to crucify the Iowa Democratic Party. Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), even called for a recount of the votes. In return, members of his party are calling for his resignation. As a matter of clarification, Perez is not above criticism, but caucuses are run by state parties and not the Democratic National Committee.
Nearly three days after the caucusing, results started trickling in. Naturally, neither Sanders nor Buttigieg have conceded as the Associated Press will not validate either candidate as there is still one outstanding delegate. Nevertheless, Sanders and Buttigieg took that momentum into the first of three Democratic debates in February. Until this point, both men have remained fairly civil. Sanders has allowed Elizabeth Warren to attack Buttigieg. But, as the campaign heats up, Sanders has proven more willing to throw punches.
The two poked and prodded each other all night until Sanders went after Buttigieg taking donations from big-money donors saying, “if we want to change America, you’re not going to do it by electing candidates who are going out to rich people’s homes begging for money.” Buttigieg hit back by saying that the Sanders campaign is “dividing people with the politics that says, ‘If you don’t go all the way to the edge, it doesn’t count,’ a politics that says ‘It’s my way or the highway.’”
Overall, it was a contentious debate where it seemed only that Andrew Yang escaped without any bruises if only because he spoke the least of the seven candidates on stage. Even so, Yang dropped out of the race on New Hampshire primary night. The leading Democrats have two more debates to prepare for, one in Las Vegas (February 19) and one in South Carolina (February 25).
All this debate drama comes just three days after Donald Trump’s third State of the Union (SOTU). The address proved testy from the beginning as the president refused the customary handshake with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after handing over a copy of his speech. In the speech itself, the president delivered a typical address that covered the economy, immigration, health care, and more. As expected, Democratic members of Congress live fact-checked his address, taking issue with much of what he had to say. But it wasn’t just the policy content of the speech that people took notice of.
Near the middle of his speech, Trump paused and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh joins the ranks of Maya Angelou, Ellie Weisel, Rosa Parks, and countless others like them. Trump was soundly ridiculed. Fred Guttenberg, a guest of Nancy Pelosi and the father of a young girl killed in the Parkland shooting was removed from the House chamber after an audible protest. He was responding to Trump who said, “So long as I am president I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.” Guttenberg took issue and called out, “What about victims of gun violence, like my daughter?” After the nearly 80 minute speech, Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the address. It was a viral moment worthy of our polarized time. Conservatives went on the attack with some even calling the move illegal while Democrats praised her.
The focus quickly shifted from the SOTU to the New Hampshire primary. On Tuesday Feb. 11, after the dust finally settled, Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the primary over a strong push by Pete Buttigieg and a surging Amy Klobuchar. Elizabeth Warren’s fourth-place finish puts a spotlight on an already bumpy few weeks in which her campaign has been overshadowed by other candidates. Her campaign has slowed from its high-flying inception, as evidenced by her speech on primary night not being televised live by any major networks.
Supporters of Joe Biden have the most reason to be concerned as he led national polls heading into both Iowa and New Hampshire, but finished a distant fifth. Biden immediately flew to South Carolina, a supposed “firewall,” to shore up support despite the Nevada caucus being next in the nominating process.
Whether Republican or Democrat, 2020 is bound to be a year full of political excitement. Candidates will continue to drop out of the race, especially in the coming weeks and months as the Republican and Democratic Conventions approach. That will only add to the deluge of news and that can be overwhelming. Just know that come November, the world will be watching us. But it must be earned. No matter who wins in November, it must be earned just like we civilians must earn a reprieve from the chaos. Each candidate is pouring their heart and soul into campaigning. To receive our reward, we must vote. •
