A photo essay by Danny Wilcox Frazier/ VII
On February 3, Iowans once again become the first in the nation to cast their votes in the presidential primaries. The state’s legendary caucuses are deemed so important in sorting out frontrunners that candidates spend months in the state — often becoming so ubiquitous and meeting citizens in such small groups that Iowans joke that by the time the caucus rolls around, they expect to see candidates bagging their groceries or delivering their mail. Every four years, party activists and political pundits also question the disproportionate influence that Iowa voters have on the election process — and suggest a revised primary season, giving other states the chance to be first. VII photographer Danny Wilcox Frazier, a native Iowan, has photographed many seasons of election cycles, logging thousands of miles crisscrossing the state as he covers the candidates (and the flock of reporters who follows them). In this essay, he looks back at the 2019 campaign year in Iowa — and the field of candidates which numbered 28 at the beginning of the year and is now down to 12 as Iowans prepare to caucus.
