Why Iowa matters so much in the presidential election
The little state has a big first-mover advantage come primary season
By C.W.
IT IS SMALL and almost 1,000 miles from the White House. But for decades, Iowa has played an outsized role in America’s presidential primaries. Barack Obama said that winning Iowa during the 2008 primary season was the best night of his political career. The state—known for its cornfields and brutally cold winters—can serve either as a campaign’s launchpad or as its crash site.
More from The Economist explains
Who are the Druze, the victims of a deadly strike on Israel?
The religious minority has often been caught up in regional crossfire in the Middle East
Myanmar’s rapidly changing civil war, in maps and charts
Ethnic militias and pro-democracy groups are scoring victories against the governing junta
Who will be Kamala Harris’s running-mate?
She is reportedly vetting a dozen options. These are the top three
Why have so few American presidents been from the West?
Kamala Harris’s nomination would be a milestone for the region
Why the Olympics still has a doping problem
Cheating with drugs has again become an organised affair
Why some Russian athletes will be eligible to compete at the Paris Olympics
Despite antipathy between the Russian government and the International Olympic Committee a handful will compete