Former President Donald Trump’s first campaign for president was unlike anything Iowa caucus goers had experienced before. Many voters clung to his right-wing populist message and still support him as he runs for the White House a third time. His election in 2016 marked a clear shift in Iowa’s politics that’s still very present today.

Iowa’s march to the right

The famed first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are back. But things are different this time around. In 2024, the power dynamic in Iowa politics has completely shifted. The Democrats have essentially packed up and left. And the Republicans are taking the national stage alone to see what caucusgoers decide with an indicted former president dominating the candidate pack.The new season of Caucus Land looks at the Iowa caucuses through this lens to understand how we got here and why the mission of keeping Iowa first in the presidential race is so important to the state parties.This season of Caucus Land is a collaboration between Iowa Public Radio and the Midwest Newsroom.

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Iowa’s march to the right

Iowa’s march to the right

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