Q: Why is there so much coverage and perceived importance of the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary? Both are small states and the media spends weeks flooding us with the beauty pageants of the presidential hopefuls.
—Harris Gottlieb, Dunwoody
A: The Iowa caucus receives attention mainly because it's first and the results can either provide momentum or damage the campaigns of presidential candidates.
The winners of the Iowa caucus don’t always win their party’s nomination, but they can receive more media attention heading into the New Hampshire primary.
Candidates who finish third or lower in Iowa rarely receive their party’s nomination, with an exception being John McCain in 2008, the New York Daily News reported.
He was fourth in Iowa with 13.1 percent, behind Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson.
The circumstances are similar with the New Hampshire primary, which can provide impetus or hurt campaigns, depending on the result.
The New Hampshire primary will be held on Feb. 9.
Q: What happened to the man who anchored the evening news with Brenda Wood?
—Helen Moore, Stone Mountain
A: DeMarco Morgan is a CBS News correspondent who is based in New York.
He left 11 Alive in November after four years at WXIA-TV.
Morgan anchored the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.
“It’s an amazing opportunity that I just couldn’t turn down!” he told the AJC in October.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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