Dordt College was a stop on the campaign trail for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and Democratic candidate Lawrence Lessig. The occasion was the inaugural Iowa Conference on Presidential Politics held October 29-31.
Jeff Taylor, professor of political science at Dordt, organized the event because, he writes, “politics is not just something we study and write about. Politics is something we do.”
Santorum spoke about the purposes of caucuses and the need for more of them. He also took questions from the audience. Other conference topics included the Tea Party and the pro-life movement. Students and professors from several colleges and universities presented papers.
Taylor said he hoped that the 110 people who attended “saw how bridges can be built in the study of presidential elections and presidential power—bridges between the practical and the theoretical, between historians and political scientists, between qualitative research and quantitative research, between conservatives and liberals, between secular schools and religious schools.” He hopes that Dordt College can host this same type of conference four years from now during the next election process.
About the Author
Kyle Hoogendoorn is a freelance news correspondent for The Banner. He lives in Rock Valley, Iowa.