The Iowa caucuses, explained

Iowa, the 30th most populated state, and tiny New Hampshire, which holds the second nominating contest on February 9, have traditionally served as early filters to winnow out the losers and elevate the top contenders for later contests. Many expect that one or several of the Republican candidates who scored poorly in the latest polls-Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul-will drop out if they do badly in Iowa.

Among Republicans, we have the showman, the ideologue and the next-generation man. Among Democrats: the avowed socialist who wants a democratic “revolution” and the avowed progressive/realist who says she wants to…

Most primaries are closed, meaning registered Republicans must vote in the Republican primary and Democrats in the Democratic primaries.

Although it was the GOP that had reporting problems, Democrats said both parties have to make sure the vote count is accurate and timely.

Later this year at the Democratic and Republican Party conventions, delegates from each state will vote for the eventual presidential nominee.

Instead, hardy Iowans must attend public meetings in school gyms, arts centers, churches, libraries, restaurants and even fire stations in 1,681 precincts to vote for a candidate. But the system is still criticized for keeping out more moderate voters and often leads to a perception that only the most committed, radical voters show up.

The parties hold their caucuses simultaneously, but they operate differently. From Tuesday forward, presidential candidates and the outside groups helping them are set to spend $11 million on TV and radio ads in the state, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media’s CMAG.

The candidates realize time is running out if they’re going to try to convince Iowa voters they’re the best person to the lead the country.

After more than a year of up-close and personal evaluation of the candidates, Iowans will gather with their neighbors on what promises to be a cold wintry night to kick off the state-by-state process of picking the Republican and Democratic nominees for the November 8 presidential election. A total of 44 delegates to the national convention are at stake. This means another candidate viewed as second-best by a non-viable candidate’s supporters could ultimately get a big boost as they regroup. Registered Republicans, including same-day registrants, show up tonight, listen to short pitches from each campaign, and vote by secret ballot. National convention delegates are divided proportionally based on the ballot results. But more than a win, the goal is to exceed expectations.

Sanders, however, has a far more hard path to the nomination regardless of the result, particularly with Clinton likely to be strong in numerous upcoming primaries. A win in either state sometimes gives a candidate an air of inevitability, as was the case with Barack Obama, who won Iowa in 2008, overtaking Hillary Clinton. In the 2012 general election, Iowa’s 73 percent turnout was among the nation’s highest. Iowa and New Hampshire are also home to just about every major GOP constituency: evangelical Christians, social conservatives, libertarians and tea party adherents as well as mainstream establishment Republicans.

Most people think the Iowa caucuses are just the first presidential primary in the nation – a chance for Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to see how they’re really doing with voters.

SPIN CYCLE – WHY IOWA DOESN’T MATTER: Poor performers in the caucuses will look for ways to play down the importance of Iowa. Grubbs is a former chairman of Iowa’s Republican Party.