Iowa caucuses blog
Keep checking themaneater.com throughout the night for more updates.
Jan. 3, 2008
The first step in nominating the major-party candidates for President of the United States happens tonight when Iowans meet for party caucuses at precincts across the state. The Maneater will cover the caucuses with multimedia updates and live blog posts on this Web site. Check back throughout the night and Friday morning for updates.
Check out the following stories for more background information about the caucuses:
News:
[11:07 p.m.] Democratic voters turned out in record numbers
[10:08 p.m.] Obama, Huckabee win caucuses
[6:04 p.m.] Education has presence on night of caucuses
Democratic voters turned out in record numbers
DES MOINES, IOWA - After states across the nation moved their caucuses and primaries to earlier dates in an attempt to increase their importance in the selection of the presidential candidates, Iowa remained the earliest contest in the nation, holding caucuses today.
This meant that the primaries took place while most colleges and universities are in the middle of winter break, including Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Drake's winter break ends Jan. 21 according to the Drake University Web site.
Caucus-goers expressed concerns that this affected voter turnout in Des Moines since students who are registered in Des Moines but who visit their families over breaks would not return for the caucuses and could not vote absentee because of the rules of the primaries.
Despite these concerns, the Iowa Democratic Party is reporting record turnout throughout the state. As of 10:45 p.m., there are about 230,000 reported voters in the Democratic caucuses.
DES MOINES, IOWA - Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucus and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., won the Democratic caucus in Iowa tonight.
In a race that was expected to be tight, Obama pulled away with 37.5 percent of the vote. Also exceeding expectations, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards received more votes than Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., with barely less 30 percent of the vote each.
About 97 percent of the Democratic precincts have reported, according to the Iowa Democratic Party.
According to CNN, Huckabee received 34 percent of the Republican votes, continuing his rise to recognition, while Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., got 25 percent of the vote. The third-place race in the Republican party is still undecided as more precincts report while Fred Thompson is running neck and neck with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who all have between 10 and 14 percent of the vote.
For final results and more in-depth coverage, check back to themaneater.com throughout the night and Friday morning.
Education has presence on night of caucuses
DES MOINES, Iowa — On the night of the Iowa caucuses, while college students hope to make a difference, education has a presence in the Polk County Convention Complex, the media hub for the Iowa caucuses.
Strong American Schools is a nonpartisan public awareness campaign aimed at elevating education to the top of the list of America's priorities through a fictional candidate the organization created named "ED in '08."
The three main goals of the campaign are to increase education standards in America, put effective teachers in every classroom, and provide more time and support for learning.
With the increasing discussion of domestic issues in national polls and debates, ED in '08 has called for all presidential candidates to put forth a plan of action to ensure American students will "graduate from public school with the skills needed to compete in a global economy," a Strong American School news release stated.
According to the release, three-quarters of the presidential candidates have announced comprehensive education proposals or made public statements in support of at least one of the three aforementioned ED in '08 policy pillars.
The policy pillars focus mostly on K-12 education, but the organization says poor education before college can lead to a lack of preparation for college.
According to a Strong American Schools fact sheet, college affordability is only part of the solution.
"As tuition costs skyrocket, elected officials have begun offering plans to make college more affordable for high school graduates," the fact sheet states. "But better affordability without better preparation will not solve the bigger challenge — making a college degree more attainable to more Americans."
The fact sheet compiles a list of sources that have provided the following figures to ED in '08:
- Only about half of students who enroll in four-year colleges after high school manage to earn a bachelor's degree within six years.
- Nearly one-third of college freshmen enroll in at least one class they took in high school.
- Two-thirds of jobs require college education.
More Jan. 3, 2008 News Stories
- College students flood into Iowa to help campaign — Five students from Mizzou for Obama canvassed for Barack Obama in Greenfield, Iowa.
- Explaining the Iowa caucuses — Caucuses are held in 1,781 precincts across the state of Iowa.
- History of the Iowa caucuses — Iowa has become a proving ground for presidential candidates.
- Iowa caucuses blog — Keep checking themaneater.com throughout the night for more updates.
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