While I read a great deal of speculation over college students potential participation in the Iowa caucuses Reuters is reporting that campaigns are facing difficult times as students in Iowa are headed home for the holidays meaning a potential loss of support for the Caucuses but more importantly a loss of free labor.

From Reuters:

A clash between Christmas vacations and the U.S. election calendar has left presidential campaigns in Iowa struggling with a shortage of student volunteers to call voters, distribute pamphlets and drive people to the polls.

The first-in-the-nation nominating caucuses are on January 3, the earliest ever, meaning that many students have gone home for the holidays just as candidates seek to ramp up their vote drive in the final days before the crucial contest.

That hasn’t stopped campaigns, which rely heavily on students’ enthusiasm and free labor, from trying to persuade many to drop their holiday plans for the cause of winning over undecided voters.

Meanwhile the Washington Post has an article entitled Courting students and hoping the actually show up.

My guess? They won’t at least not in the great masses many on the Internet are predicting.