Why is Iowa first in the caucus?

The Iowa caucus is a major election event in the U.S., especially for the selection of the nominees to become President of the United States.  This caucus is just one of many caucuses and primaries that are held in various states of the U.S. Of all the caucuses, though, the one held in Iowa is the first and signals the start of the U.S. presidential election process.  Many people often ask why this is so because Iowa is not considered a big state, and there are not a lot of voters in Iowa. This makes it somewhat appropriate for this state to be the first in the U.S. presidential electoral process.

Experts and historians believe that this happened by accident or was unplanned back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Back then, revisions were made in terms of holding caucuses, and a 30-day notice was required before any event could be held in any state.  Because of this revision, officials in Iowa had to backtrack their schedule to advertise early and hold their caucus earlier than usual.  And since the Iowa electoral and caucus process called for a state convention by around June of 1972, all the other parts of the process had to be moved back earlier in the year.  The first part of this long process is the state caucus, and it eventually landed a spot at some time in January of 1972, making it even earlier than the one held in New Hampshire.  From then on, Iowa held the distinction of holding the first caucus for every presidential nomination and election activities.

Although the holding of the first caucus in the state of Iowa didn’t really matter in the election results back in 1972, the caucus eventually made a significant influence to the whole U.S. electoral process over the years.  It is said that the trend for the elected nominee for a political party can be observed even at the start of the process or at the first caucus in Iowa.