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What it was like inside the last living room caucus (ghostarchive.org)

submitted 9 months ago by n7gifmdn@lemmy.ca to c/news@beehaw.org

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https://ghostarchive.org/archive/replay/w/id-d6b589a25342/im_/https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/01/15/multimedia/15iowa-caucuses-living-room-01-vqfp/15iowa-caucuses-living-room-01-vqfp-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp Sharon McNutt spent much of Caucus Day on Monday baking fresh cherry-chip cookies, cleaning bathroom sinks and taking her coffee pot out of storage.

No, she was not just keeping busy amid the Iowa cold spell — she was preparing to host at least 35 people in her home on caucus night.

Ms. McNutt, the mayor of Silver City, Iowa — population 245 — and her husband, Gary McNutt, have been hosting caucuses in their home every two years since 2002.

“I consider myself a professional,” Ms. McNutt said.

This year they hosted the state’s last living-room caucus — the only one to occur in someone’s home, out of 1,657 Iowa Republican precinct locations. On Monday, the McNutts set up chairs they had collected over the years from garage sales and dollar stores, and placed them amid recliners and tables lined with knickknacks. Their new Siamese kitten, Stella, slunk between chairs as caucusgoers trickled in and sat down on Monday night.

Ms. McNutt said that in 2016, 50 people showed up to caucus, more than she had expected, so she ran around the house trying to find enough chairs. Someone called her “the chair lady” that night, she remembered.

“You’ve been called worse,” Mr. McNutt said with a laugh.

Ms. McNutt said this was the coldest caucus she had ever hosted.

“It was cold before, but not this cold,” she said. She added that if any voters needed a blanket, she would find one for them, and that she would have the fireplace running all evening. Image

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[–] n7gifmdn@lemmy.ca 4 points 9 months ago

better pictures on the ghost-archive link above

[–] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

What is caucus day? How is it important? How is it connected to winter? What am I missing here as your average european?

[–] TheBaldness@beehaw.org 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Around this time of an election year, the political parties of each state get together and decide who their candidates are going to be. This story is about a small district in Iowa with a population of only 245 people. Their meeting was so small, it took place at someone's house. It's brutally cold there right now. Winter has nothing to do with it otherwise.

[–] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ok, thank you.

[–] TheBaldness@beehaw.org 3 points 9 months ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucus#In_the_United_States

[–] bermuda@beehaw.org 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It's not just deciding the candidates. It's a lot less of a vote in an election (like a primary) and more of a neighborhood meeting. People give speeches, express support or disdain, and try to convince other people to support their candidate. I believe they still vote at the end, but it's not like an election where voting is the only thing you do. It's different depending on the state, but that's how it generally works in Iowa.

Edit; also important to note that caucus has different meanings depending on where it happens. I.e. if it happens in Congress then it's a meeting of peers with similar backgrounds who then vote or decide on policy positions.

[–] The_Sasswagon@beehaw.org 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Caususes are a way some state political parties choose to pick out their favorite party candidate for the November election.

In most states they have a primary which is just a normal election by US standards. In a few, including Iowa, they gather in a physical room and move from location to location to physically show who they support.

That means if I'm "caucusing for Bernie" I'd go stand next to the Bernie crowd. This ends when a certain candidate has a majority (I don't remember the exact amount). So people move from candidate to candidate as they see theirs isn't winning or as they are persuaded by others there.

Every state has their primary or caucus on a specific day, so yesterday was Iowa's day, and it's often very cold this time of year in Iowa. This year it's pretty brutal, high of 3°F and low of -3°F today (-16C and -19.5C), and it was colder a few days ago.

[–] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago

The more I discover about US election system the more confused I am, lol. This is like some form of centuries old comedy and not like current event real president may come from.