Barbara Trish and William J. Menner, "Inside the Bubble: Campaigns, Caucuses, and the Future of the Presidential Nomination Process" (Routledge, 2021)

Feb 1, 2022

Inside the Bubble

Campaigns, Caucuses, and the Future of the Presidential Nomination Process

Barbara Trish and William J Menner

Hosted by Marshall Poe

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Summary

Today I had the pleasure of talking to Barbara Trish, professor of political science at Grinnell College, about her new book (co-authored with William Menner) Inside the Bubble: Campaigns, Caucuses, and the Future of the Presidential Nomination Process (Routledge, 2021).

The book is a behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Democratic nomination process focusing on the Iowa caucuses and the campaign workers who located there. For decades, Iowa held the first contest in the presidential nomination process and individuals interested in campaign work considered it a holy grail. But in 2020, a record number of Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump - and the hundreds of young campaign workers who located to Iowa - created a political event unmatched in scope and scale. Those workers, embedded in the caucus bubble, focused for months on finding supporters for their candidate and ensuring they attended their precinct event - the first step in selecting delegates to the national convention. And then Caucus Day came, and with it a technology-driven fiasco that seemed to foreshadow a year of pandemic and protest. The lessons learned in 2020 underscored the importance of local staff who organize and mobilize supporters for a candidate in whom they believe. And those lessons are applicable to any race of any party in any state. For students of US politics as well as aspiring candidates, political journalists, and campaign professionals, this book captures the drama and human perspective of campaigns and elections in America.

Marshall Poe is the founder and editor of the New Books Network. He can be reached at marshallpoe@newbooksnetwork.com.