Breaking down the Iowa caucus

While primaries exist as the most popular system of choosing presidential candidates in the United States, the Iowa caucus remains one of the most pivotal stages in any candidate’s quest for the White House. The first of many caucasus nationwide, candidates try to rally support in order to secure their party’s nomination in the caucus that serves a barometer for candidates viability.

In last night’s caucus, conservative Ted Cruz won the Republican caucus with 27.6 percent of the vote, followed by Donald Trump (24.3 percent) and Marco Rubio (23.1 percent). Defeating the dominant force and rival candidate Donald Trump, Cruz’s victory marks a significant shift in the Republican race as Trump loses his top position and Rubio emerges as a viable candidate.

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton edged out Bernie Sanders in a closely contested race, earning 49.9 percent of the Democratic vote, compared to Sanders’ 49.6 percent. However, many consider this to essentially be a tie.

One of the most unique systems of choosing a presidential candidate, the caucus system provides deeper insight and more involvement by voters. It consists of a multitude of party meetings, where voters participate in discussion and ultimately choose a candidate.

How the process works:

1. Voters arrive at the venue and form groups based on which candidate they support.
2. Discussion and debate ensues as people attempt to convince others to support their candidate.
3. Voters then make their final decisions of which candidate to support. In the Republican party, votes are made secretly, while in the Democratic party, the groups formed representing each candidate are simply counted.
4. The candidate with the most support wins and these results are then recorded and submitted.
5. The winning candidate receives an appropriate number of delegates to go forward and represent them in the county, state and ultimately national conventions.