Caucus System Muddies Assessment of Democrats

From The Wall Street Journal:

When Iowans caucused four years ago, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's share of the turnout should have earned him 21 of the state's 45 delegates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards should have received 17, and former Vermont Gov. John Dean should have taken seven.

But when the Iowa delegates showed up at the convention in Boston six months later, 39 delegates were committed to Mr. Kerry, four to Mr. Edwards and two to Mr. Dean.

The caucus system -- which elects delegates only to local conventions, not the national convention -- makes it nearly impossible to calculate who is ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination. That is why estimates by news organizations and campaign-related Web sites vary so widely.

In states that hold primaries, delegate selection is fairly straightforward. Three-quarters of a state's delegates to the national convention are awarded to the candidates based on how well they did in each congressional district. The other 25% is awarded based on how well they did in the state at large. Of Georgia's 76 elected delegates, for example, 57 are awarded at the district level and 19 at the state level.