By demoting the state that crushed his presidential ambitions in 2008 and nearly did so again in 2020, President Joe Biden has abused a position of power to skew the 2024 Democratic primaries in his favor.
In the 2008 Iowa caucuses, Biden came in fifth, with less than 1% of the vote, and was forced to drop out. In 2020, despite campaigning heavily in the state, he came in fourth. In 2024, Iowa would have been the 80-year-old incumbent’s biggest challenge, since they tend to choose and elevate fresh young faces. At Biden’s request, the Democratic National Committee has now removed that threat and smoothed his path to reelection.
