Some People Never Learn: Iowa Caucus

[Mr. Smith]

Republican Caucuses:

As the season begins, the initial front-runner is the fire-brand but inspiring Senator Barry Goldwater. However, prominent Republican figures worry he may too conservative for the electorate, who would prefer the more moderate but inspiring figure of Senator John McCain. McCain has however little ground game in Iowa, hoping instead to let the results of New Hampshire decide where his campaign goes next.

Representing the liberal wing of the party are Governor Thomas Dewey, who has done surprisingly well to fend off attacks from most of the other candidates...often telling Goldwater that no "you can't kill ideas with guns", though he still perceived as a lightweight. However compared to John C. Fremont, he is relatively tame. Fremont is expected by figures to possibly be able to make in-roads with some more liberal voters in the state that may have been disillusioned. But like Goldwater, many fear he will be a loose canon if elected.

And as for W. Mitt Romney, he keeps changing sides, and everyone has repeatedly attacked his record. He has wisely decided to wait for New Hampshire before deciding anymore.

Democratic Caucuses:

On the Democratic side, with 9 candidates on the ballot, Will Rogers rightfully called herding cats easier.

The expected front-runner is the liberal hero George S. McGovern, but he has slightly fallen after a few clumsy gaffes. With these gaffes and fears of being a loose cannon, liberal pundits are hoping he will drop out and endorse Humphrey or Gore, who are the two favorites of the establishment.

The second biggest ground operation in Iowa is that of William Jennings Bryan, who derides McGovern as "uncaring" and "immoral" and hopes to champion himself as the true champion of the people.

In third at the moment is Humphrey himself, who sounds mostly like McGovern, accept less fiery and more accepting of war.

Al Gore is hoping to ride in on his support for ethanol and combating climate change, but many have seen him as condescending and phony.

Though seriously underfunded, Stephen Douglas is still hoping to get far with his message for "more democracy", what rallies he has held have been known to be very high energy.

The Two New York Governors Samuel J. Tilden and Alfred E. Smith, though on the ballot have pretty much abstained from campaigning in Iowa, hoping to make up the loss in New Hampshire, where being business friendly will play out better.

On the far-right is the soft-spoken John W. Davis, but like Tilden and Smith, his Iowa operations are nearly non-existent. He has had a few rallies, hoping like Bryan to get some support from the farmer class. However, it is known that the DNC Chairman DWS publicly called him "a regional candidate who should just drop out...or switch to the Republicans already". But he is mostly based in The South.

And as for Breckinridge, he got arrested after crashing a BLM rally in Chicago while drunk, his only big political endorsement at the moment is David Duke. There's probably some support somewhere, but no one else is willing publicly. His name is still on the ballot.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Dewey

[Kingpoleon]

Dewey-Fremont!

OOC: Is Fremont a sort of liberal who rallies the base?

[Classic Conservative]

Goldwater

[Mr. Smith]

Oh yeah, two days on this.

And I'm voting for Bryan.

[RINO Tom]

Dewey

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Goldwater

[Intell]

Fremont!

[Maxwell]

Fremont!

[Mr. Smith]

With the day halfway over, here are the standings:

Republicans

Barry Goldwater (53.84%)
Tom Dewey (23.07%)
John Fremont (19.23%)
John McCain (3.8%)

Democrats

George McGovern (57.14%)
William Jennings Bryan (19%)
Al Gore (9.52%)
John W. Davis (4.76%)
Al Smith (4.76%)
Hubert Humphrey (4.76%)

[Mr. Smith]

1 hour left.

[Mr. Smith]

RESULTS

GOP Caucus:

Barry Goldwater (53.57%)
Tom Dewey (21.42%)
John Fremont (17.85%)
John McCain (7.14%)
Mitt Romney (0%)

Shocking no one, Barry Goldwater continued his momentum into Iowa. With his calls for small government, energetic campaigning, serious calls to support the police putting their lives on the line and a huge operation and ground game, it was almost inevitable he would win...only his extremeness prevented a bigger win, since some moderates who were scared off. Those moderates of course ended up mostly splitting the vote between Governor Dewey and Senator Fremont, who both ran some respectable operations themselves. McCain managed to pull off the remaining votes, which his aides are looking at optimistically given the tiny operation that barely left Des Moines. And Governor Romney came back empty, but he still believes New Hampshire will come home for him. This means nobody has withdrawn from the race yet...stayed tuned for New Hampshire.

Dem Caucus:

George McGovern (54.54%)
William Jennings Bryan (18.18%)
Al Gore (9.09%)
Hubert Humphrey (9.09%)
John W. Davis (4.76%)
Al Smith (4.76%)
Other (0%)

Although McGovern had made a few gaffes earlier, a strong and earnest campaign to lift up the poor and protect Medicare managed to shine through, much to the chagrin of the mainstream who were hoping for a resounding Humphrey victory.

Bryan also came out very nicely, bringing back some [though not many] evangelicals who hadn't voted for a Democrat since Carter. He fired off a "Fleeing in their Yachts" speech, targeting the rich CEOs with their offshore accounts.

Humphrey and Gore, the establishment picks tied for third, which many speculate comes from their reluctance to support a policy in which the U.S. pulls back and allows other nations to do more heavy lifting attacking ISIS. But while Humphrey aides have entertained the idea, Gore aides call such things "pure lunacy".

At the bottom rung of votes are Governor Smith and John W. Davis, neither of whom had much in the way of operations in the state. Smith barely left Des Moines, and Davis mostly kept the conservative Northwest.

Disappointed by this outcome, Stephen Douglas dropped out of the race and endorsed John W. Davis, calling for a more moderate and Democratic Democratic Party. Breckinridge is still imprisoned, thus no longer eligible to run and Governor Tilden is holding out for a different outcome in New Hampshire.