Precincts in Ames, Des Moines and West Des Moines a microcosm of big political event

January 4, 2008

By Jason Hancock, Michael Swanger and Jared Curtis

Ames’ precinct 12 represented only 208 of the nearly 240,000 Democrats that turned out to caucus Thursday, but it proved to be a good example of how the night was going to play out across the state for the presidential contenders.

The room quickly filled up, with no seats left open with plenty of time to go before candidate groups formed and with a line still out the door. And once the groups were able to form, clear patterns emerged that would eventually be the story of the night.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s group was overwhelmingly college-aged voters, not a big surprise in a college town. They gathered in their corner of the Heartland Senior Center and never budged.

Opposite their group sat supporters for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton [who finished third in Iowa with 29 percent]. That group was much older and far smaller. When several candidates were deemed not viable, it was Obama’s group that was the biggest second choice, followed by former Sen. John Edwards [who finished second in Iowa with 30 percent]. Clinton actually lost supporters.

When the final statewide numbers finally came in, they merely verified what anyone in the Ames senior center already knew. Obama had managed to do what many deemed impossible: he turned out the youth vote in big numbers.

Evidence of a growing youth movement was evident earlier that day at Valley High School in West Des Moines where “Rock the Caucus,” an after-school party that drew about 300 Valley students, was sponsored by Rock the Vote, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization recently partnered with MTV. It was one of two parties aimed at Des Moines area youth just hours before the Iowa Caucuses [the other at Lincoln High School] and included printed information on each candidate.

Valley students danced to hip-hop, played the popular video game “Guitar Hero III” on a big screen and ate free pizza. But they were also engaged in the political process, making posters to voice their opinions of candidates and major issues, and filming national public service announcements for Rock the Vote.

Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote, said the group’s aim is to build the political clout and engagement of young people and that it has launched its most ambitious campaign effort ever in an attempt to register 2 million young people and to turn them out to the polls. In Iowa, she said, about 10,000 high school students who would turn 18 by Nov. 4 had pledged to her organization that they would caucus. She said she was impressed by how politically engaged young Iowans are.

“They’re talking about politics with their friends because they know there is a lot at stake,” Smith said. “But that doesn’t surprise me because in 2004 more young people participated and we know that voting is a habit. We just want to give them the tools they need.”

Smith said a Rock the Vote mock caucuses held earlier last week in Indianola was indicative of other mock caucuses across the state where they found that young people favored Obama and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, both of whom won the Iowa Caucuses that night.

Ali Diaz, a 17-year-old junior from West Des Moines, said she planned to caucus for Obama. But her personal politics were the least of her concerns that afternoon as she was busy helping coordinate “Rock the Caucus” at Valley. “We just want people to realize it’s a privilege to vote at our age,” she said, adding her cell phone was constantly ringing with calls from the media for interviews. “Most of my peers are voting Democrat.”

Matt Stilwell, a 17-year-old Valley senior, said he, too, was caucusing for Obama. “I like his stance for change for our country,” he said. “He wants there to be a United States, not divided.”

Mikayla Logan, another 17-year-old Valley junior, was reading information about Huckabee, but was unsure whom she would have caucused for that night if she didn’t have a conflict with a performance with Valley Show Choir on caucus night. “I’m excited about all of this, even if I don’t vote tonight,” she said. “I never paid that much attention to politics before but will know what to expect next time. I think it’s pretty cool.”

More than 112,000 Iowa Republicans, however, wanted their voice to be heard and the nation heard loud and clear that they want Huckabee to be the next president of the United States. Huckabee outdistanced his nearest rival Mitt Romney 34 percent to 25 percent, while Fred Thompson and John McCain tied for third with 13 percent and Ron Paul finished fourth with 10 percent.

“Iowa is the epicenter of politics,” said Paula Maxheim, who was at the caucus supporting Huckabee. I think a lot of other cities are jealous of have much attention we get. But this is only the beginning, like the starting gate in a horse race.”

More caucus goers came out then ever before, with people supporting many different candidates.

“I really like Mitt Romany’s views on healthcare,” Andrea Gerber, a DMU student and first time caucus attendee. “It’s a very important subject and Romney offers strong statistics.”

“I think the caucus offers a return to small town government,” said Andrew Shinn, a first time caucus participant, who supports Paul. “A lot of people aren’t sure who they are voting for and it’s a great way to hear different opinions on all the candidates. CV

Comment on this story | Return to top