According to an Op-Ed written by Levin College’s School of Communication Professors Dr. Anup Kumar and Dr. Richard M. Perloff, for years, the Democratic National Committee has been criticized for the Iowa caucuses influence on the presidential nomination process. “Given that the state’s overwhelmingly white and rural population did not represent the bulk of Democratic voters, and shamed by the ways its byzantine vote tabulation procedures led to errors and chaos in 2020, the Democratic Party has selected South Carolina, with its more diverse demographic base, as the party’s first-in-the-nation contest,” the authors contend.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kumar and Dr. Perloff say that stepping away from the traditional caucus format is a loss for our country. “What the party gains in social justice it loses in another normative ideal: grass roots democratic deliberation. In South Carolina, political marketing and money will supplant the folksy, meet-and-greet, reflective aspects of the Iowa caucuses.”

Read the full Op-Ed here. »

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Levin College or Cleveland State University.