Inside the Bubble

Inside the Bubble: Campaigns, Caucuses, and the Future of the Presidential Nomination Process 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.

Barbara Trish is Professor of Political Science at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. She directs the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights.

Bill Menner is a consultant on rural development and rural health. He was a White House appointee within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and previously worked as a public radio political reporter.