On Monday January 15th, 2024 Iowa began the primary election season with their state wide caucus. The Midwest state is the first, in every election cycle, to start the arduous process of selecting the presidential candidate for the Republican party.  They set the precedent and trends for the most popular candidates. While many Americans understand this process is an important step towards the 2024 presidential election, some do not understand what a caucus is or how it works.

The caucus is a rare form of primaries that only a few states do, Iowa being the most important. Local towns or areas of people meet up at a designated place (usually a school or church) and vote. While this is normal procedure for almost every state the difference is in how Iowa holds their vote. Once everyone is in the same room a leader, chosen ahead of time, will conduct the vote. A different portion of the room will be assigned to a specific candidate, those that wish to vote for that candidate simply walk over an stand in their spot. Once everyone has found their candidates spot they remain there while the leader conducts a head count. Once a majority has been declared the numbers are sent to the county office who recount them, then sent to the statehouse where they are triple-checked. Finally, after all counties have reported their counts, the state will release an official statement declaring who won.

Iowa has the privilege of going first and while Iowans do not directly have more power than any other state’s citizens, they do set a standard. The Iowa caucus shows what candidates are forerunners and which ones will be left behind. If Iowan citizens decided to not vote for a specific candidate then other states will be less likely to vote for them as well, fearing their vote will not be as impact.

Former President Trump won the State by a landslide victory over his other competitors. He polled exceptionally well at 51% the largest amount Iowa has ever seen. This bodes very well for Trump as this well set the benchmark for the rest of the country. Some say Trump will continue to dominate in the primaries and will have a rematch with Joe Biden for the presidency. Others say this was a fluke and that Nicki Haley has been polling well in other states and she will be the Republican Parties presidential candidate.

While Iowa’s caucus system may seem like a big game of Four Corners, it is actually the first step in the presidential cycle for the 2024 election season. While Iowa sets the bar the next states also hold considerable power before Super Tuesday (New Hampshire and South Carolina).