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Iowa has the honor of holding the First in the Nation caucuses. The pioneers of the Iowa Constitution chose caucuses rather than a primary to nominate candidates, preferring the grassroots, democracy-in-action approach.

During a presidential year, caucus attendees vote for their nominee for president. That makes Iowa voters the first voters in the nation. Because of Iowa’s First in the Nation status, presidential candidates make frequent trips here, giving Iowans great opportunities to meet their Party’s future presidential nominee.

2010 is a non-presidential year. At this year’s caucus, attendees will select delegates for each of Iowa’s 99 county conventions. Those convention delegates can potentially move on to the district and state conventions. The other responsibility at the 2010 caucus is to discuss the Party platform, a statement of beliefs written by Party members. To read the most recent platform, click here.

The 2010 caucus is on Saturday, January 23rd at 1 p.m. You can find your caucus location by clicking here.