What to expect in the Iowa caucuses | AP Election Brief

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of campaigning, the Republican candidates vying to unseat President Joe Biden in November will face their first formal test at the ballot box in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

The Hawkeye state once again kicks off the presidential primary season, at least on the Republican side, where former president Donald Trump seeks his first win in a contested Iowa caucus against an ever-shrinking field of candidates that includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, among others.

At stake in the caucuses are Iowa’s 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, and perhaps more importantly, bragging rights and momentum heading into the New Hampshire primary the following week.

Polling in the state has shown Trump with a substantial lead, with DeSantis and Haley in a tight race for second place. The caucuses could cement Trump’s status as the overwhelming frontrunner, but they could also reveal opportunities for other candidates if he fails to meet expectations. For DeSantis and Haley, even if they don’t win outright, a strong second-place caucus performance could establish them as the leading alternative to Trump.

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