Remembering Jimmy Carter and his Iowa caucuses influence

Jimmy Carter is credited with putting Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses on the map, a piece of his legacy being remembered following his death Sunday.

Catch up quick: Carter, 100, was the longest-living former president in U.S. history.

• The former peanut farmer and Georgia governor, who was a long-shot presidential candidate, "practically lived in Iowa" to campaign.
• His better-than-expected showing in the 1976 Iowa Democratic caucuses helped propel him to the White House and demonstrated how Iowa could be a stepping stone for gaining national political prominence, The Atlantic reported in 2016.

Flashback: As president, Carter's administration was dogged with inflation and foreign policy challenges, like the Iranian hostage crisis, Randall Balmer, the author of "Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter," wrote in a 2023 DSM Register guest opinion.

• But he also oversaw peace agreements and renegotiated Panama Canal treaties, noted Balmer, who graduated from Des Moines Hoover High School.
• Carter lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan.

The latest: The 39th president is remembered for his diplomacy and humanitarianism, much of it in the decades after he left office.

• He and his wife, Rosalynn, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for more than 35 years.

Carter won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to end international conflicts, advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.