ALL OVER IOWA Erika Derrick was feeding her peacocks in Springville, Iowa, when the phone rang. It was us, The New York Times, on the other end of the line. Hers was one of 75,299 numbers called as part of a poll conducted in January by The Times and Siena College. A small subset of these likely Democratic caucusgoers — including Ms. Derrick — said they would talk to us in person. So we flew to Iowa to meet 15 of them (plus a 9-year-old) in their homes, dorm rooms, a coffee shop and two public libraries.
Colleen Sheely said she could still be persuaded to caucus for a different candidate. 39 percent of likely caucusgoers felt the same way. Meet her and 14 other Iowans below.
Results from all likely caucusgoers
59% said their mind was made up.
39% could still be persuaded.
59% said their mind was made up.
39% could still be persuaded.
Source: The New York Times/Siena College poll conducted Jan. 20-23.
Iowa Democrats are split on whether to support a candidate they agree with most, or one with the best chance of beating President Trump. So is our group.
Results from all likely caucusgoers
Would you be likelier to support a Democrat who …
48% … you agree with most on the issues.
49% … has the best chance to beat President Trump.
Would you be likelier to support a Democrat who …
49% … has the best chance to beat President Trump.
48% … you agree with most on the issues.
Source: New York Times/Siena College poll conducted Jan. 20-23.
Most people we met said they had previously attended an Iowa party caucus and would attend this year, even if the weather was bad. That included Richard Mendenhall, 82, who has not caucused since John F. Kennedy.
Results from all likely caucusgoers
71% have attended an Iowa party caucus before.
29% have not.
71% have attended an Iowa party caucus before.
29% have not.
Source: New York Times/Siena College poll conducted Jan. 20-23.
Getting a job, losing health care, racism: a number of worries keeps these Iowans up at night.
This question was not in the poll, but we asked it in person.
What is the best thing about Iowa? The people. The worst thing? The weather, by far.
These questions were not in the poll, but we asked them in person.
The New York Times/Siena College Research Institute survey of 1,689 registered voters in Iowa, including 584 Democratic caucusgoers, was conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 23. The margin of error due to sampling is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points for the Democratic caucus electorate and plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for registered voters. To ensure a representative sample, the types of voters least likely to respond to telephone polls were more likely to be called.
Reporters/Producers
Larry Buchanan
Haeyoun Park
Solana Pyne
Nilo Tabrizy
Cinematographers
Brian Dawson
Elliot deBruyn
Director of Cinematography
Jonah M. Kessel
Editors
Jeff Bernier
Meg Felling
Caroline Kim
Natalie Reneau
Design/Development
Larry Buchanan
Alastair Coote
Eden Weingart
Additional Production
Aaron Byrd
Dave DeCristo
Christina Kelso
Michael Puretz
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
