The Iowa Caucus

What is a caucus?

a caucus is a gathering of group members who meet to discuss issues of the group's governance and/or public policy issues

Caucuses in the United States have existed since at least 1763

Presidential Election Years

In presidential election years, states that do not use a presidential primary will utilize the caucus-convention method for the selection of national party convention delegates

a meeting of party members, usually at the precinct level, who will choose delegates to the party's next level of convention (typically county), which is then often followed by district and state

conventions where national convention delegates will be chosen.

Caucus 101

Participants in caucuses may give speeches regarding the candidate they support, and delegates are selected often on the basis of candidate support

Caucus 101

Iowa precinct caucuses are important because they are the event that begins the official presidential nomination season

Potential presidential candidates flock to the state as early as two years before the presidential election, as they seek to advance their candidacy for their party's nomination by doing well in the Iowa caucuses.

Caucus 101

Caucuses are meetings held in designated places at a designated hour

Caucuses take substantially more time and effort from voters than participating in a primary, where one simply casts a ballot at a designated polling place during polling hours.

The Iowa Caucus

All over the state. There are 1,774 precincts in Iowa, meaning 1,774 churches, libraries and other buildings where caucus-goers will converge Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. central time. 

How does it really work?

First, the Pledge of Allegiance is said.Before any votes are cast supporters of the

various campaigns are permitted a few minutes to make the case for their candidate. This process means it's in every candidate's interest to

have a speaker at all 1,774 caucus sites, as a way to sway uncommitted Iowans at the last minute.

After the speeches, those in attendance then write down their choice on a piece of paper. The results are counted, announced and fed to the media. 

Iowa Caucus January 3, 2012

How will the GOP caucus look tonight?http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/02/video-how-the-gop-caucus-works/?iref=allsearch

What’s next?

New Hampshire primary – January 10th

Political analysts use the results from these races to tell how well candidates are doing with different kinds of voters, as Iowa is a Midwestern state dominated by religious

conservatives, whereas New Hampshire Republicans have more of a

small government identity.

Who are the candidates?

Mitt Romney – Former Mass GovernorNewt Gringrich – Former Speaker of HouseRon Paul – Tex RepMichele Bachmann – R-MinnRick Perry – Tex. GovernorJon Huntsman – Former Utah Gov.Rick Santorum – Former Penn. Senator