“Iowa has only a non-binding straw poll, not a primary. At caucuses, local party officials are selected, and delegates to county conventions are selected. Those delegates are not bound to a candidate.”
But doesn’t the party have rules that if you hold a primary before NH or a caucus before IA you lose delegates, thereby giving those two states a preference and protected status?
That seems correct.
Allowing a few small states to “go first” gives an opportunity for less well-funded candidates to be heard. Do we really want a system where a candidate needs $20 million dollars before the first primary vote is cast? Talk about a GOP-E wet dream!
Iowa is allowed to have early caucuses precisely because they are not binding.
I assume every state has caucuses. How else do precincts select chairs and start building platform planks? Can’t do that with a primary.
Caucus costs are paid for by political parties. Primaries put taxpayers on the hook