When can we expect the results of the Iowa caucuses?

The presidential primary season will finally see its first votes cast on Monday 15 January when the Iowa caucuses are held.

All eyes will be on the race to secure the Republican nomination, with frontrunner Donald Trump expected to cement his commanding lead over his rivals in the polls as the likes of Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy seek to make an impact and prove they have the support to mount a meaningful challenge.

For Democrats, the matter is much more straightforward: they will gather in gyms, schools, libraries and churches across the state’s 1,657 precincts (spread over 99 counties) to elect delegates to send to the county conventions in March, the next step to selecting the delegates that will attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Despite sub-zero temperatures and snow being forecast, the state Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann has insisted: “We have done everything humanly possible to ensure that this caucus comes off without a hitch.”

Mr Kaufmann has promised his organisation will have a live public-facing website up and running in time for caucus day carrying the results from each precinct as they come in,<a rel=«nofollow» target="_blank" href=«https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2024/01/12/when-you-may-start-to-see-republican-<a» https:>unfamiliar with the Iowa caucuses

, they are a series of local meetings held throughout the state at which participants indicate their preference for the presidential nominee their party will place on November’s ballots.

Republican candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley participate in the Republican presidential debate hosted by CNN at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday 10