In late 1975, almost no one thought that Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia, could ever be the Democratic nominee. There were already 11 Democrats running for office and some other prominent figures waiting to announce. Most of them were senators, like Henry “Scoop” Jackson and Birch Bayh, with national name recognition. When Carter announced that he was going to run, even his hometown newspaper, The Atlanta Constitution (now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), joked in a headline: “Jimmy Who?”

But what Carter and his advisers understood from day one was that the old rules of campaigning no longer applied. The power of the party bosses, who used to decide on the candidate during the convention, had been destroyed as a result of reforms that were pushed by McGovern after the disastrous 1968 convention. Now, voters in each party held the balance of power through their pick at the primaries and caucuses. There was also more money available for non-establishment candidates. As a result of the Watergate campaign-finance reforms, any candidate could qualify for public financing as long as they raised at least $5,000 from private donors in a minimum of 20 states. Carter had worked hard to make this happen, selling T-shirts and peanuts while organizing rock concerts with bands like the Allman Brothers to encourage small donations to his candidacy. Most important, Carter was a relentless campaigner. After announcing his candidacy on December 12, 1974, Carter campaigned for 260 days in 40 states and 250 cities—all before any votes were taken.

From the start, the key to his strategy revolved around Iowa. Carter believed that if he could influence media coverage of his candidacy through a victory in Iowa, he would be treated as a serious candidate, making it easier for voters in subsequent contests, like New Hampshire, to vote for him. The actual delegate count from Iowa was less important than the kind of media coverage his victory would produce. He hired one of the best organizers in the business, Tim Kraft, to direct the organizational effort in the state. A skilled political hand, Kraft organized about 20 statewide committees, and each one was charged with finding volunteers for the caucus who would talk to neighbors about Carter’s candidacy and make certain that people showed up on voting day.

Carter and his team spent a considerable amount of time in Iowa as almost all of the other major candidates literally ignored the state. He went door to door, leaving notes at homes where nobody answered. His staff followed up with personalized thank-you notes to everyone he met. While the other candidates were looking at New Hampshire, Carter was focused on the voting that would take place a few days earlier. He spent an immense amount of time speaking with reporters from the local press and promoting the image of himself as a candidate from outside the Washington establishment who was not tied to the system that had created Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Reporters were attracted to his folksy mannerisms and the underdog story of a peanut farmer who was now running for the most powerful position in the world. “The people of this country,” Carter liked to say, “want a fresh face, not one associated with a long series of mistakes made at the White House and on Capitol Hill.”