Iowa Caucus Day: What to know about the significance, projections and results
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Today is Caucus Day, and candidates have spent the weekend fighting extreme cold temperatures, snow and ice to meet with Iowa voters.
Candidates took jabs at one another as well, and comedians have popped up at least three campaign events to troll Republican presidential hopefuls.
The latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll released Saturday showed former UN ambassador Nikki Haley pulling ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second-most popular among candidates.
The Democratic party is holding only a mail-in voting system to conduct party business this year, meaning all eyes are on the Republican party today.
It may be one of the coldest Caucus Days on record for Iowans, but here is what to know if you're following along from afar.
More: Iowa Caucus live updates: How does it work? What does it mean for 2024? What to know.
When are the Iowa Caucuses in 2024?
Iowa’s Republican caucuses begin at 7 p.m., central time, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.
What is the significance of the Iowa Caucuses?
As the first-in-the-nation contest, the Iowa Caucuses are the first test of voters' presidential preference.
Iowans will cast their vote to determine what percentage of the state's 40 national convention delegates each candidate receives.
Although Iowa only provides 1.6% of Republican delegates in the U.S., the contest can give candidates who do better than expected momentum while dampening prospects for those who seem to fall flat with voters.
What happens at the Iowa Caucus?
Iowa caucusgoers hold a binding vote for the party's presidential nominee at designated caucus sites and elect delegates to county conventions. The event does not require a minimum threshold to qualify for delegates.
Delegates will attend this summer's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the party's nominee will be chosen.
The Iowa Caucus voting is done by secret ballot with no set list of candidates to choose from. Some caucus sites provide pre-printed names of major candidates and a write-in option but most of the time voters write the name of the candidate on a blank paper sheet.
When will we know the results of the caucuses?
Representatives from the Republican Party of Iowa said results should be available a few hours after the event starts at 7 p.m.
Historically, results haven't always been available on caucus night. The 2020 Democratic Iowa Caucuses were plagued with technical issues on a newly rolled-out app meant to seamlessly report results. It would be several weeks before the party announced that candidate Pete Buttigieg had secured the most delegates.
Haley gets bump in Register's Iowa Poll
Former president Donald Trump shows a commanding lead among Republican candidates, but a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll releases Saturday showed Haley pulling ahead of DeSantis for the second-place spot for the first time.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Marina Pitofsky, Stephen Gruber-Miller, Brianne Pfannenstiel, Katie Akin, USA TODAY-Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa Caucuses: What to know about significance, time and results
