(Professor Charles) Franklin, the UW political scientist, thinks the plethora of GOP debates this fall has helped to make them, in a sense, the “new Iowa.” What he means is that by showcasing this assortment of political intellects, a roster cut of Republican candidates is happening now, before the much-trumpeted Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.
“Those (GOP) debates have become shockingly ubiquitous,” Franklin says of the dozen debates thus far, with more to come. “They are talking about them as the new Iowa, that this is the first elimination round and that is wildly different.”