Recently, different presidential campaigns have taken different approaches to win the Iowa Caucuses or get their ticket punched to New Hampshire by finishing in the top three. In addition, some campaigns have tried to skip Iowa altogether (which has never been successful).

The thing to remember with caucuses is that they are not primaries that are run similarly to a general election with all-day voting, early voting, and mail-in voting. Instead, caucuses are functions of political parties for members of the party to select delegates who will back their chosen candidate. Party members meet in precinct caucuses in one evening, hold a presidential preference poll, and then choose county convention delegates and county party central committee members.

The vote on caucus night is symbolic but does provide candidates who do well with momentum and earned media coverage.