By — Lisa Desjardins Lisa Desjardins Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-why-the-iowa-caucuses-get-to-go-first Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Why New Hampshire holds the first primary Politics Updated on Feb 10, 2020 2:00 PM EDT — Published on Jan 31, 2020 1:32 PM EDT When it comes to U.S. presidential elections, why do we pay so much attention to New Hampshire and Iowa? The origin story of the Iowa caucuses is born out of the political upheaval of the late 1960s, while New Hampshire’s place in the race to the White House is pretty straight-forward — it’s mandated by state law. PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins digs into this question in our explainer video. Watch in the video player above. WATCH LIVE: Special coverage of the New Hampshire primary We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lisa Desjardins Lisa Desjardins Lisa Desjardins is a correspondent for PBS News Hour, where she covers news from the U.S. Capitol while also traveling across the country to report on how decisions in Washington affect people where they live and work. @LisaDNews
When it comes to U.S. presidential elections, why do we pay so much attention to New Hampshire and Iowa? The origin story of the Iowa caucuses is born out of the political upheaval of the late 1960s, while New Hampshire’s place in the race to the White House is pretty straight-forward — it’s mandated by state law. PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins digs into this question in our explainer video. Watch in the video player above. WATCH LIVE: Special coverage of the New Hampshire primary We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now