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Step 1
For the purposes of politics, a caucus is a meeting or gathering of political party members to make political decisions and select party candidates for upcoming elections. In Iowa, the caucuses meet every two years; however, it is during the presidential election years that the influence of their selections are important on a national level.
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Step 2
Unlike every other state, where voters cast individual votes during an election primary, voters in Iowa attend these caucuses throughout the state. They are held in various places, from public facilities to individual homes. Anyone who is a registered voter may attend a caucus held for their political party. Those who attend cast their support for the candidate of their choice, among those running in their party. While Democrats and Republicans in Iowa have differing methods of casting the votes, the results are expected to be a collective voice of the majority in their party. Typically, the Iowa Caucus takes place in January during presidential election years.
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Step 3
The results are not the guaranteed presidential nominee by the Iowa voters. Delegates are selected at these caucuses and the delegates selected at the state convention level will ultimately cast the votes to represent Iowans.
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Step 4
The Iowa Caucus is important to the national elections because they are the first organized polling of the candidates. It is for this reason that the media and candidates from both parties focus a great deal of time, money and attention on Iowa early on. Also, Iowa is generally considered to be a good balance of the wider mix of political and social views from both parties, offering a fair representation for the rest of the nation. An interesting exception to the rule of Iowa's significance would be the 1992 Iowa Caucus. Tom Harkin, from Iowa, was running as a candidate for the Democrats; consequently, the rest of the Democratic nominees skipped the caucus and the media virtually ignored it.
