2024 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses

Main article: 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries

2024 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses

←  2020 January 12 – March 5, 2024 2028 →
←  CO ME  →
46 delegates (40 pledged and 6 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention
Candidate Joe Biden Uncommitted Home state Delaware – Delegate count 40 0 Popular vote 12,337 614 Percentage 90.37% 4.50%
Results by county Biden   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90%

The 2024 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses were held as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election.

In this cycle, in-person caucuses focusing only on party business were held on January 15, but voting on candidates was being done exclusively via mail-in ballots from January 12 until Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. This was the result of a compromise between the Iowa Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Iowa traditionally holds its race first during the presidential primary and caucuses season, but the DNC wanted South Carolina to instead hold its race first. 46 delegates to the Democratic National Convention were allocated to presidential candidates. ^[1]

Incumbent President Joe Biden announced his bid for a second term on April 25, 2023. ^[2] He faced a primary challenge from author, progressive activist, and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, ^[3] and Representative Dean Phillips. ^[4] All three candidates filed to appear on the mail-in ballot and were certified by the filing deadline on December 1, 2023 - along with a choice to vote for "Uncommitted". ^[5] Joe Biden won the primary, along with all 40 pledged delegates. ^[6]

Scheduling controversy

President Joe Biden sent a letter on December 1, 2022, to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), requesting that "diversity" should be emphasized in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, shifting Iowa's traditional status of the first state to hold a caucus. ^[7] A December 2022 vote by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee the following day approved the change. ^[8]

On February 4, 2023, the DNC approved a new 2024 primary calendar, moving South Carolina to hold its race first on February 3. Iowa, which traditionally goes first, would then be held later in the primary season. Members of the Iowa Democratic Party and the New Hampshire Democratic Party opposed the move, since they would no longer be the first two states to hold their races. ^[9] Lee Saunders, a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee who was in favor of the change, said that adjusting the calendar will give a truer representation of the composition of the country. ^[10]

Under normal circumstances, the Iowa caucuses operate very differently from primary elections used in most other U.S. states. Instead of going to polling places to cast ballots, Iowans instead gather in-person at local caucus meetings to discuss and vote on the candidates, which are typically held at selected schools, churches, public libraries, or even individuals' houses. In response to the chaotic 2020 Iowa caucuses and the DNC's new rules and calendar, the Iowa Democratic Party initially planned to allow voting-by-mail for the first time, hoping to gain a better spot on the primary calendar through closely abiding by the new rules and enlarging their voter base. They speculate that in doing so they could take the spot of another planned early state that fails to meet the date expected by the DNC. However, in early June 2023, the Republican-controlled state legislature and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new bill into law requiring the caucuses to be held in person in order to force Iowa Democrats not to follow the DNC plan and to secure Iowa's first-in-the-nation status. ^[11] Iowa Democrats wanted to hold the caucus in person, select delegates and complete party business, fulfilling the law, while they would still organize the presidential preference vote by mail-in cards and officially declare the results during the later timeframe sanctioned by the DNC. ^[12]

On October 6, the DNC and the Iowa Democratic Party reached a compromise in which the in-person caucuses could still be held in January, but delegate-determining voting were held through the mail until Super Tuesday, March 5. ^[13]

Opinion polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Joe Biden	Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	Dean Phillips	Marianne Williamson	Other	Undecided
	February 28, 2024	Williamson re-launches her candidacy
	February 7, 2024	Williamson suspends her candidacy
Emerson College [14]	Jan 11–13, 2024	367 (LV)	± 5.1%	72%	–	2%	5%	–	21%
Emerson College [15]	Dec 15–17, 2023	263 (LV)	± 6.0%	69%	–	1%	5%	–	24%
	October 27, 2023	Phillips declares his candidacy
	October 9, 2023	Kennedy withdraws from the primaries
Emerson College [16]	Sept 7–9, 2023	273 (LV)	± 5.9%	50%	9%	–	7%	–	34%
HarrisX [17]	Aug 17–21, 2023	784 (LV)	–	47%	19%	–	7%	12%	16%
Emerson College [18]	May 19–22, 2023	301 (LV)	± 5.6%	69%	11%	–	10%	10%	–
Victory Insights [19]	April 8, 2021	600 (RV)	± 4.2%	63%	–	–	–	11%	26%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Pete Buttigieg	Kamala Harris	John Kerry	Amy Klobuchar	Michelle Obama	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	Bernie Sanders	Elizabeth Warren	Other	Undecided
Victory Insights [20]	April 8, 2021	600 (V)	–	15%	28%	7%	9%	12%	2%	2%	3%	5%	16%

Results

Iowa Democratic caucus, January 12 – March 5, 2024 ^[21]

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Actual delegate count
			Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Joe Biden (incumbent)	12,337	90.37%	40		40
Uncommitted	614	4.50%	0		0
Dean Phillips	394	2.89%	0		0
Marianne Williamson [b]	307	2.25%	0		0
Total:	13,652	100.00%	40	6	46

See also

• 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses
• 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2024 United States presidential election
• 2024 United States presidential election in Iowa
• 2024 United States elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. While voting was ongoing, Williamson suspended and then unsuspended her campaign.

References

1. "Iowa Democratic Delegation 2024". The Green Papers . Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
2. "Joe Biden announces he is running for president again, setting up possible Trump rematch". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
3. Weissert, Will (March 4, 2023). "Marianne Williamson begins longshot 2024 challenge to Biden". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
4. Murray, Isabella; Walsh, Kelsey. "Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips launches 2024 White House bid in challenge to Biden". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
5. "Iowa Democrats put 3 presidential candidates' names on mail-in caucus cards. Who's named". Yahoo News. December 2, 2023. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
6. "Iowa Democratic Caucus Results". The New York Times. March 5, 2024. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 5, 2024.
7. Miller, Zeke; Kinnard, Meg; Weissert, Will (December 1, 2022). "AP sources: Biden tells Dems he wants SC as 1st primary vote". Associated Press . Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
8. "DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Adopts Biden Calendar Proposal". Frontloading HQ. December 2, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
9. Shepherd, Brittany (February 4, 2023). "Democrats approve new primary calendar for 2024". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
10. Chambers, Francesca (February 4, 2023). "Democrats approve 2024 primary calendar that demotes Iowa, boosts South Carolina". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
11. "When are the Iowa caucuses? Great question". Politico. June 10, 2023. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
12. "Iowa Democrats approve 2024 caucus delegation plan". June 3, 2023. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
13. "DNC's new calendar, will release caucus results on Super Tuesday". Iowa Public Radio. October 6, 2023. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
14. Mumford, Camille (January 14, 2024). "Iowa 2024 Poll: Trump Remains Frontrunner; Haley Ahead of DeSantis in Race for Distant Second Place". Emerson Polling.
15. Mumford, Camille (December 20, 2023). "Iowa 2024 Poll: Trump Maintains Support, Haley Catches DeSantis For Second Place". Emerson Polling.
16. Mumford, Camille (September 12, 2023). "Iowa 2024: Biden and Trump Remain Frontrunners In Caucuses, But Both Losing Ground". Emerson Polling.
17. HarrisX, American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. "American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce Releases Its First 2024 Presidential Race National and Iowa Surveys of Voters, Conducted by HarrisX". www.prnewswire.com (Press release).
18. Mumford, Camille (May 25, 2023). "Iowa 2024: Biden and Trump Start with Significant Leads in Party Caucuses". Emerson Polling.
19. "Victory Insights" (PDF).
20. "Victory Insights" (PDF).
21. "Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus Results". Des Moines Register . Retrieved March 5, 2024.