The
Iowa Democratic Caucus - January 3 was the first in the line of caucuses for selecting the party's candidate to run for the post of the US President. Iowa has seven electoral votes and well in excess of 2,000,000 registered voters, of which 31% are Democrats.
The January 3 Democrat caucus at Iowa saw the participation of 57 Democrat delegates in Iowa, including 45 tied to the January 3 caucus and 12 super delegates. There was a record 100% turnover for the Iowa caucus held on January 3. All the precincts reported, escalating the number of caucus attendees to a whooping 227,000, nearly double of the total caucus attendance in 2004. The entrance poll reports revealed that women formed a majority in the total poll strengths at 57%, with males accounting for the rest 43%. Most of the voters (38%) were between the age of 45 and 64.
The Iowa caucus results do not release the total number of votes received par candidate, but the total number of delegate votes one is supposed to receive at the National Convention. Illinois Senator Barack Obama was declared as the projected winner from the state. He secured 38% votes, with 940 state delegate votes and 16 delegate votes. His nearest contender was Sen. John Edwards, who secured 30% (744 state delegate) votes and 14 delegate votes. Sen. Hillary Clinton finished third with 29% votes and 15 delegate votes. She received a total of 737 state delegate votes.
Senator Obama commented after his win that by selecting him, the people of Iowa have clearly expressed their preference for change over experience. He was supported by John Edwards, who said that this verdict was for transition and against status-quo. He further added that what remains to be seen was who will be entrusted with the responsibility of bringing about that change. Sen. Clinton said she looked forward to the rest of the campaign, and stressed that only she had the necessary administrative experience to bring about change.
