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Election campaign enters decisive stage in Iowa John Whitesides / Reuters | December 17, 2007 The long and sometimes baffling drama of electing a U.S. president, marked by obscure rules and long-held traditions, enters its decisive stage in two weeks. The nominee of each party will be determined via a grueling marathon of state-by-state contests that begins on January 3 in Iowa and is followed five days later in New Hampshire, with all other states joining in over the next few months. Eight Democrats and eight Republicans, many of whom have been campaigning for more than a year, are vying for the right to face off in the November 4, 2008, election to choose a successor to Republican President George W. Bush, who will leave office after two terms. (Article continues below)
This year the calendar of state nominating contests has been moved up so Iowa and New Hampshire will be followed quickly in January by contests in Nevada, South Carolina, Michigan and Florida. That will be followed by "Super Tuesday" on February 5, when more than 20 states hold nominating contests that could determine the ultimate winner. All of the state contests are concluded by early June. The contests are typically either caucuses, where voters gather at local meetings to declare their presidential preference, often publicly, or primaries, in which votes are cast at polling places by secret ballot. Iowa holds the first caucus and New Hampshire the first primary. Iowa Democrats conduct their caucuses in public, with supporters of each candidate breaking into groups. Iowa Republicans gather publicly to cast a private ballot in what is essentially a straw poll. CLICK ON THE BANNER TO
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