The Caucus Process
For starters, Republicans and Democrats have different types of caucusing methods. Voters have to be at the designated caucusing sites by 7 p.m. and doors close immediately after. For Republicans, caucus goers typically listen to a speech of each candidate and cast a secret ballot.
For Democrats, voters have to assemble together in a room for the candidate they choose and if a candidate does not have 15 percent of the population congregating then that candidate will be considered "non-viable." Which means participants cannot caucus for that candidate, but they will have the opportunity to join another candidates group since they cannot participate for the non-viable candidate. Once there are no non-viable participants, each candidate's group will be tallied and the winner will be declared.
I know what you're thinking, caucusing is complicated. Only about 20 percent of registered voters turn out to caucus. There are usually complaints that caucusing isn't the most effective way for turnout. Luckily, I live in Texas where there's open primaries.
Predictions
According to Real Clear Politics (an organization that gathers polling data), Donald Trump has a five point lead over Ted Cruz from the most recent poll on Saturday (Trump 28%, Cruz 23%, and Rubio 15%). There's a tighter race on the Democratic side with Hillary Clinton having a three point lead over Bernie Sanders (Clinton 45%, Sanders 42% and O'Malley 3%).
Many are predicting that former Governor Martin O'Malley will be deemed a non-viable candidate in Iowa. Results of the caucus will appear late Monday night. For a better understanding of how caucuses work watch this video.
