Why Should Iowa Remain the First Presidential Primary? Because it is More Representative Than ...

[cyberswede]

Especially for Debi! :)

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Why Should Iowa Remain the First Presidential Primary? Because it is More Representative Than You Might Think

WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to a new study, Iowa reflects the diversity of America more than most other U.S. states and is well-placed to deserve its status as the first presidential nomination primary. In particular, Iowa was found to be particularly typical of the U.S. in economic and social terms.

The research was presented in an article by political scientists Michael Lewis-Beck (University of Iowa) and Peverill Squire (University of Missouri) entitled "Iowa: The Most Representative State?" appearing in the January issue of PS: Political Science & Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association. The article is online at http://www.apsanet.org/media/PDFs/PSJan09LewisBeckSquire.pdf.

The authors set out to answer the question of whether or not Iowa is truly as unrepresentative of the U.S. as is widely assumed, especially the idea that its "heavily rural, northern European-descended population make it far from demographically representative of contemporary America." They note initially that in terms of size, location, and accession to the Union (1846), Iowa is about at the midpoint for all states -- but that investigating the characteristics of the inhabitants of the state is the necessary crucial step. To do so, they examine "an extensive battery of state-level socioeconomic and political measures... uncover their underlying patterns."

more: http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=9993140&nav=menu28_2_4_2

[rurallib]

1. Wasn't Peverill Squire formerly at Iowa State?

I seem to remember him from IPR political shows. A name like that isn't easily forgotten.
I may get beaten up but if that is the same guy, then this may look like another attempt of Iowans to justify the caucuses.
Doesn't make it invalid - just may make some question the motivation behind the study.

[Debi]

2. YAY! Thanks cs!

This'll make Mr. Debi smile for certain!

I love this:

<snip>

CONCLUSION

Is Iowa representative? Yes, at least reasonably so. And when
it is not, that is often because it boasts a superior performance
socially (e.g., educational attainment) or politically (e.g., voting
turnout). Further, with respect to other social goods, it
might be mentioned that the politics of Iowa is well known to
be corruption free. If indicators on corruption had been
included in our analysis, they would be expected to boost its
ranking higher. With respect to the leading dimension of economic
conditions, which we did measure, Iowa is unambiguously
the most representative state in the country. In addition,
its geographic and historic centrality, commented on initially,
should not be forgotten. All things considered, there seems no
cause to take away Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential selection
status. If one state must hold this position then it is hard
to make a better pick. Although of course not impossible, if
one accepts the first-place ranking of Kansas. 

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