| THE LEDE The chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, Troy Price took a bit of offense when I asked him why his very nice, random state is so important in Democratic politics. But even as coastal media types and black and Latino leaders alike rail against Iowa’s primacy, the next 32 days in Democratic politics will be all about Iowa — like it or not.
Progressive Iowa: Iowa is homogenous culturally and politically peculiar in some ways, but the main thing it does in a Democratic primary is pull leftward. The people who bother turning up to caucus are weighted toward women, older college graduates, and students. They’re progressive on race and economics, and have in recent decades selected everyone from the labor figure Dick Gephardt to Barack Obama. The center-left snapback typically comes the following week in New Hampshire.
Iowa Reading: I’ve been following Bleeding Heartland for a thoughtful progressive perspective on the Iowa scene since its author, Laura Belin, was volunteering for John Edwards in 2008.
Media Stakes: Julián Castro, a guy whom Barack Obama’s team once saw as the future of the Democratic Party, dropped out of the primary today. One of the most interesting things about his candidacy was his media junkie’s critique of a style of political coverage — focused on polling and fundraising — that he felt boxed him out. When we texted, he said he worries that "a fascination with oddity, or simple timeliness, overtake news judgement about what's important for readers.”
READ RECEIPTS Troy Price Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, is one of the most important people in national politics…this month. Before leading the party, he ran One Iowa, an LGBTQ rights group. He wasn’t sure he’d be in any shape to text on Jan. 1, so we connected on New Year’s Eve. ON THE TRAIL WITH BUZZFEED NEWS Nidhi went to Las Vegas and found the Bernie campaign is speaking to older Latino voters through their grandchildren (with some help from AOC).
Jane profiled the veteran fighting to protect fellow vets online: “I found election interference and no one cared,” he told her.
Addy looked at how the progressive caucus plans to become a political powerhouse in 2020.
And finally, a team of political reporters and editors put together this essential guide to the best political tweets of the decade. P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide.) 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Ben Smith, Veronica Dulin, and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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