John Deeth
johndeeth.bsky.social
John Deeth
@johndeeth.bsky.social
One of my goals was reached in the 2025 session when Rep. Dave Jacoby introduced the first ever Iowa presidential primary bill. A good start but we need every Democrat as a co-sponsor next year. End
June 5, 2025 at 11:51 PM
In March 2024 I reviewed IDP's first mail in presidential primary and offered suggestions for improvement. It's likely 2028 will follow a similar template. www.bleedingheartland.com/2024/03/07/i...
Iowa Democratic caucus a limited success—but much work remains
John Deeth: What did we learn from the Iowa Democratic Party's first attempt at a party-run primary, and how can we make it better?
www.bleedingheartland.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:51 PM
In late 2022 I suggested an in person caucus for party business only, and a party run primary for presidential preference. After months of delay, IDP adopted essentially this plan. www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/12/10/h...
How Iowa Democrats can follow state law and DNC rules
John Deeth: Iowa law does not require any presidential selection process at a party's precinct caucuses. Republicans have not always done so.
www.bleedingheartland.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:50 PM
To my shock people started listening to me, and in May 2022 I was actually invited to discuss the caucuses on Iowa Press www.iowapbs.org/shows/iowapr...
Iowa Democratic Caucuses
On this edition of Iowa Press, Rep. Ras Smith (D - Waterloo) and John Deeth, a Democratic activist from Iowa City, discuss potential changes to the Iowa Democratic Caucuses and where Iowa may end up o...
www.iowapbs.org
June 5, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I made some suggestions in the summer of 2021. Some were acted on, others were not jdeeth.blogspot.com/2021/07/fixi...
Fixing The Caucuses, Part 5: Friendly (?) Advice
Because I'm openly in favor of ending the caucuses and going to a primary, even if it costs Iowa First, I've been persona non grata at Iowa ...
jdeeth.blogspot.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The delegate apportionment formula also punishes high turnout strong Democratic counties jdeeth.blogspot.com/2021/07/fixi...
Fixing The Caucuses, Part 4: The Apportionment Problem
Iowa Democratic caucuses defenders, which I used to be, will argue that the caucuses are a representative democracy, much like the House of ...
jdeeth.blogspot.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The biggest and least fixable problem: Severe overcrowding in the most Democratic precincts. There simply aren't enough large rooms to hold everyone who wants to attend. jdeeth.blogspot.com/2021/07/fixi...
Fixing The Caucuses, Part 3: The Crowd Crisis
Defenders of the caucuses have for decades argued that an in-person meeting is a great organizing opportunity for local parties.  Maybe it u...
jdeeth.blogspot.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Next up: the problem of accessibility for anyone who for whatever reason can't attend an in person caucus: jdeeth.blogspot.com/2021/07/fixi... (Note: IDP had a party run mail in process in 2024)
Fixing The Caucuses, Part 2: The Access Problem
Voting rights are a critical civil rights issue in the post (?) - Trump era. Election law has increasingly become a partisan fight in the tw...
jdeeth.blogspot.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:48 PM
First off: The difference between "First," which is what most Iowans mean when they say "the caucuses," and the actual caucus night process. jdeeth.blogspot.com/2021/07/fixi...
Fixing The Caucuses, Part 1: "The Caucuses" vs. "First"
Time to get the beret out of mothballs, dust off the old blog, and settle in for some longer discussion. As those of you who follow me on my...
jdeeth.blogspot.com
June 5, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Most of this is from summer 2021 but the fundamentals haven't changed much. If you really want to know why I so strongly favor a primary, grab a caffeinated beverage and join me deep in the weeds.
June 5, 2025 at 11:47 PM
For those who don't know: I've worked on organizing caucus night since the 2004 cycle, and I've managed the whole caucus operation for Johnson County (the bluest in the state) since the 2016 cycle.
June 5, 2025 at 11:47 PM
In the summer of 2023, I honestly believed, or wanted very badly to believe, that Joe Biden was still that man. I'm responsible for that.

One of our nation's great tragedies is that Joe Biden did not get his opportunity to serve as President until it was too late. 😢
May 14, 2025 at 6:17 PM
For 8 years I felt deeply reassured that, God forbid, anything should happen to President Obama, Vice President Biden was ready to take over on Day One.

In the fall of 2020 I thought Biden's goodness & decency were the perfect antidote to the vile years of Trump.
May 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Iowa Democrats do not deserve to be considered as an early state until we have a real government run primary and until we win some elections. And if we do as one of the old timers suggests and defy the DNC, we should be thrown out of the convention (like New Hampshire should have been in 2024)
May 12, 2025 at 1:40 AM
If ABC had bothered to ask literally ANYONE else they would have learned that many Iowa Democrats have had it with Stand In A Corner 3 Hours To Vote and want a real presidential primary - no matter when in the calendar that falls. There was even a bill introduced this year.
May 12, 2025 at 1:39 AM
(Rare use of the eggplant emoji to represent actual eggplant 😆)
May 6, 2025 at 10:47 PM