15 January 2024 , 15:25
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The coming year is a big 12 months for US politics as the 60th presidential elections are set to get under way.
Former President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he hopes the economy will crash during 2024 to boost his chances of re-election this November. The controversial Republican admitted: “When there's a crash, I hope it's going to be during these next 12 months, because I don't want to be Herbert Hoover,” referring to the president at the time of the Great Depression.
While current president Joe Biden is standing again for the Democrats in a bid to be re-elected for White House seat. A body language expert, however, said he looked "unsteady and confused" as he boarded Air Force One after his holiday in the US Virgin Islands at the start of the year.
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Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is in the running for the Republican presidential candidate (Getty Images)Biden had spent seven days lounging on the beach outside a luxury villa, owned by major Democrat donors Bill and Connie Neville. Whether or not a rematch of the 2020 presidential elections is on the cards remains to be seen - but with the Iowa caucus set to start this evening (January 15), the world will soon find out.
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But if you're wondering what exactly this caucus is even all about then we've explained a few terms surrounding it below to help you gain a better understanding of what's happening across the Atlantic.
Iowa caucus
First up is what exactly the Iowa caucus is in the first place. It actually marks the official start to the presidential nominating process. Although the state, which is traditionally Republican-led, only has six electoral votes (compared to California's 54, for example) it is where hopeful presidential candidates can begin their wooing of voters.
Such is the importance of the caucus that one dollar out of every $2.50 dished out on TV ads so far in the whole 2024 Republican nominating contest has gone toward 30- and 60-second spots in Iowa areas such as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Sioux Cityone. The Iowa caucus is an in-person meetings among voters of each party in Iowa.
Iowa primary
Primary elections and caucuses differ in how they are organized and who participates. In primaries, the voting happens using secret ballots and are run by the state instead of parties. Voting happens through secret ballot.
The outcome of primary - as well as the caucus - will impact how many delegates each candidate receives to represent them at the party's summer national convention. During this event, the candidate with largest amount of delegates will become the presidential nominee. However, if no clear winner has emerged then delegates will vote again at the convention.
Iowa polls
The Iowa poll are conducted by NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom and asks residents in the a range of political questions. The final poll was released on Saturday night and found that Donald Trump appeared be in the driving seat for the Republicans with a 30-point lead over his rivals.
The contenders were ranked as follows out of sample of 705 people attending the caucus: Donald Trump (48%); Nikki Haley (20%); Ron DeSantis (16%); Vivek Ramaswamy (8 %), "Not Sure” (5%). It revealed that 68% of people had already decided who to back in the Iowa caucus.
Iowa results
Iowa has 40 party delegates up for grabs out of more than 2,000 available across the US. These will be allocated proportionally according to the results of the vote. The results will be released to the public on March 5.
Iowa caucus time
The Iowa caucus meetings begin at 7pm CT (8pm ET) and are due to last roughly an hour. Only registered Republicans can vote but usually only a small amount of them do so.
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