AMES, Iowa — Republicans showed up at schools, churches, city auditoriums, community centers, legion halls, libraries and even a golf course clubhouse Tuesday night in this central Iowa city and its outskirts to caucus for a large field of GOP contenders looking to win the first step in the party’s presidential candidate nominating process.
At Oakwood Church, Ron Paul supporters posted signs for the Texas congressman at each entrance, while at St. John’s Episcopal Church on the Iowa State University campus, signs for Texas Gov. Rick Perry lined the parking lot. At Ames Middle School, scores waited in line to enter the building, and at Colo High School in eastern Story County, Republican caucus-goers crowded into a cramped band room, grabbing any seat available, even a piano bench.
At each of the 43 GOP venues in the county, party activists mingled in the crowd, passed out stickers, answered questions about their favorite candidates and tried to persuade any attendees still straddling the fence as to whom they would vote for to come to their side. At Colo, one supporter of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann even handed out copies of the U.S. Constitution.
At the all-county Democratic caucus at Ames High School, music from a live band revved up a spirited crowd of some 850 who came to hear a lineup of speakers that included congressional candidate Christie Vilsack of Ames, and a live feed from President Barack Obama. Noting the big turnout, an Occupy Iowa spokeswoman at the Democratic caucus said, “This is what democracy looks like.”
And what follows is more of what democracy looked like Tuesday night.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
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Paul was the winner at two campus precincts, claiming 36 votes at St. John’s Episcopal Church and 38 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.
At St. John’s, Paul easily claimed the top spot while Rick Santorum came in second with eight votes, and Newt Gingrich rounded out the top three with two votes.
But at St. Andrew’s, the top spots split almost evenly among caucus-goers, with Mitt Romney claiming 34 votes for second and Santorum coming in third with 33.
Among his supporters, many said Paul’s “consistency” and “strong principles” secured their votes.
Paul Nelson, 52, who said he usually votes for Democrats, said he’s only voted in a Republican caucus one other time: in 1996. This time around, Nelson said his disapproval of President Barack Obama’s handling of the economic crisis influenced his switch to Paul.
“(Obama) has not helped the economy grow,” he said. “I like Paul’s consistent, principled positions. He doesn’t really care if he gets elected.”
Aaron Pitzer, 22, said he also usually caucuses with Democrats but decided to vote for Paul because of his increasing viability as an anti-mainstream candidate.
“If he wasn’t on the ballot, I wouldn’t have bothered to come,” Pitzer said. “I’m actually normally a registered Democrat, but to me Ron Paul represents a couple of things which is the viability of a third party … also, integrity and honesty, and as far as I know there’s no politician who is as consistent and honest as he is in his views.”
Santorum supporter Brian Smith, a florist, said he hasn’t caucused in more than 20 years. He decided to vote this year because of the stark differences between candidates in the GOP pool.
“There are just so many different candidates, and I just wanted to see what it’s all about again,” he said. “I think if you look at (Santorum’s) record, and I have similar beliefs to him so that’s kind of what drew me to him.”
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Forty-four percent of voters in Ames’ Ward 3, Precinct 1 registered at their polling site, Oakwood Road Church. Some were new voters, some were new Republicans, but many came out in support of Paul, who grabbed 60 of 177 votes cast. Santorum was second with 46 votes, and was Romney third with 35.
In a separate room, filled mainly with college students from Ames Ward 3, Precinct 2, Paul won with 20 votes out of 36 cast.
That result drew a profanity from one Romney supporter, who asked not to be identified, when the results were announced.
Karen Kovach and her husband, Dave, threw their support to Santorum a week ago. Though many Santorum supporters saw him as a much better alternative to Romney, the perceived front-runner, the Kovaches said they would support Romney, “if he became the nominee,” Dave Kovach said.
Dean Thompson, a Romney volunteer, made up his mind after Romney appeared in Ames on Thursday.
“We’re all looking for the perfect candidate, but he doesn’t exist,” Thompson said. “This isn’t an in-house fight. We need to support the candidate that can beat Barack Obama.”
No one spoke on behalf of either Michele Bachmann or Rick Perry.
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A.J. Spiker, member of the Iowa Republican State Central Committee, and vice chairman of the Paul campaign, stumped for his candidate in his own precinct, Ward 3, Precinct 5 at Ames Middle School. In that precinct, Romney won with 83 votes, Santorum was second with 37, and Paul was third with 26.
“The goal has always been a top-three finish in Iowa, so doing well here put him in a very good place in New Hampshire,” Spiker said. “There are only two candidates that have the financial resources at this point to compete and that’s Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. It’s very rapidly becoming a two-man race.”
Dianne Bystrom, political analyst at the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics at Iowa State University, attended the Republican caucuses at the middle school as an observer. She predicted that while the caucus was going to be a “Romney and Paul night,” it would most likely finish Bachmann.
“Her campaign has been unraveling since Ed Rollins dropped off her campaign, and the showing tonight could mean the end,” Bystrom said, referring to the lawmaker’s former campaign adviser. “Though she could hang on through South Carolina, she’s also got an upcoming congressional run to consider.”
In fact, Bachmann did worse than Jon Huntsman in the two precincts that Bystrom observed, though he trailed her in statewide results.
Huntsman, Bystrom predicted, will continue campaigning at least through the New Hampshire primary.
“He’s put all his money and his time in that state and none here,” she said. “He’ll wait to see how he does in New Hampshire before making a decision to pull out.”
Evan Hudson, an Occupy Wall Street protester, said he was no longer an Ames resident, but he used his family’s home address to register as a Republican and urge those in Ward 3, Precinct 5 to vote uncommitted.
He previously caucused for Obama in 2008, but said the president, “no longer provides an avenue for change.”
“I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but everyone is watching you,” Hudson told the crowd of about 200. “You have the opportunity to change the outcome of the election … I’d like you to take a stand and vote uncommitted. If enough people do that right now we can send a message that we demand a candidate that stands not for the interests of the financial industry, but the voices of the people.”
Three people, including Hudson, voted uncommitted in the precinct.
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It was a singular moment: a nay in a room of yeas.
The votes had been cast after some discussion, and the voters of New Albany Township, gathered in the music room of Colo-Nesco High School, were working on resolutions to take to the county convention. Someone suggested a plank opposing “Obamacare.” Someone else suggested one supporting Israel’s right to defend itself. And then the issue of “traditional marriage” was raised.
“All in favor?”
Almost everyone.
“Opposed?”
One voice.
It belonged to Alex Patrick, 25, of Colo, who cast the lone dissenting vote of the caucus.
“It isn’t the place of the government to decide what marriage is,” he said. “I’m not afraid to voice my opinion.”
The rest of the crowd seemed fine with it as well. In fact, the bulk of the evening passed with only a little discussion and no real argument among the 63 registered voters.
Bachmann, Gingrich, Perry and Paul all found champions among the crowd, while no one could be found to speak for Romney. One attendee did attempt to summarize the position of Santorum, having met him once, but most of the floor time belonged to Gingrich supporter John Henry, 50, of Colo.
“I think that this caucus experience was a true representation of what democracy is intended to be, where people take an active role in their government,” Henry said. “What I was most happy with is that true conservative values were represented across the board. Any of the top three would make a good president.”
Gingrich won the precinct with 17 votes, followed by Paul at 15 and Perry at 14. Santorum got seven with Romney and Bachmann tying for last place with five each.
Down the hall in the school’s cafeteria, Sherman Township voters favored Paul with seven votes, Santorum with five, Romney with four and Perry with one.
After the votes were cast, the planks were forged. Lindy Carpenter, 49, of Colo, headed an effort to write up a right-to-life resolution.
“I think it’s a fundamental watershed issue,” he said. “People don’t realize how important it is.”
The caucus chair, Brenda McGuire, came with a carefully crafted resolution against the Affordable Care Act, a subject that hits close to home for her. She said her son, Sean, was a staffer for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and did some research into the bill originally.
“He continued to do research on it and uncovered some things that were very concerning to him,” she said. “He put grad school on hold so he could go around and tell people about it.”
It’s kind of become a mission for him, she said. They’ve taken his findings to the various politicians, but she said the response has been lackluster. The next step will probably be to bring the issue to businesses.
“It’s terrifying,” she said. “People just aren’t prepared for what’s coming.”
This story was written by Ames Tribune reporters Luke Jennett, Mike Malloy, Laura Millsaps and Hannah Furfaro.