A look across the campaign trail in Iowa from NBC News with the 2020 Iowa Caucuses set to happen on Monday, February 3. A view from the major campaigns on the ground in Iowa as this unpredictable race begins to take shape in the final hours.
Reporting on Iowa from ABC News:
The Iowa caucuses, which have been the first nominating contest in the country since 1972, marks the official start of the presidential election season – giving the Hawkeye State an outsize influence over the primary race.
This cycle, the first-in-the-nation caucuses will be held on Monday, Feb. 3 with 41 delegates up for grabs on caucus night, significantly less than delegate-rich California’s 415.
Before Monday night’s caucuses, here is what you need to know about the 2020 Iowa caucuses:
What is a caucus?
Caucuses are neighborhood gatherings or party meetings that take place all at the same time all across the state.Iowans gather at each caucus site, either at one of the 1,678 traditional precinct caucuses across the state, or at one of the 87 “satellite caucus” locations around the world, including 60 in-state, 24 across 13 states and Washington, D.C., and three abroad.
The satellite caucuses, which take place on Monday parallel to the precinct caucuses, are designed to expand accessibility and participation in the caucus process for those who cannot make it to their assigned precinct, like shift workers, people in retirement homes and Iowans living abroad; a few are also aimed at attracting voters in underrepresented communities.
At this year’s caucuses, the Iowa Democratic Party is preparing for their biggest turnout in modern political history, expecting to surpass 2008’s record-setting turnout when more than 239,000 voters showed up to caucus.
