• How are delegates to the convention selected?

Party delegates, who are pledged to support a certain candidate, are selected in a series of state-by-state elections. In actuality, it is the results of these elections that determine the parties’ nominees for president. Most states hold one of two types of elections: caucuses or primaries. Caucuses are district-level meetings where party members meet and select delegates to back a certain candidate, while primaries are direct elections that result in a proportional distribution of delegates among the candidates. As the rules for primaries and caucuses are drawn up by each state’s party leadership, they can vary widely depending on both state and party. Some state primaries are open to all state residents of voting age, whereas others are limited to registered party members only.

• Why do elections in some states matter more than others?

The states to hold the earliest primaries or caucuses have the greatest sway in determining the outcome of the complex nomination process. Iowa is the first electoral test, with this year’s caucus scheduled for today, January 3. The small northeastern state of New Hampshire traditionally holds the first primary, with this year’s scheduled for January 8. New Hampshire and Iowa are therefore the key battleground states. Other states to hold early primaries or caucuses include South Carolina, Nevada, Michigan and Florida.

• At what stage is a party’s nominee for president determined, in practice?

In theory, a candidate will clinch his or her party’s nomination only by winning a majority of delegates to his party’s convention, which will determine the outcome of the official vote. In practice, however, a candidate wins a nomination by gaining sufficient political momentum in state caucuses and primaries, so as to be seen as a clear winner by the media and the public. In 2004, for example, John Kerry was widely seen as having won the Democratic nomination for president after winning a series of key state elections on March 3. But at the time, he still lacked the number of delegates required to officially clinch the party’s nomination (as many states had not yet held their primaries or caucuses) and his chief competitor, John Edwards, had not yet withdrawn from the race. In 2008, at least 20 states — including the large states of New York, California and Illinois — will hold their primaries or caucuses by February 5, which means that both parties’ nominees for presidents will likely be determined by that date. Primaries and caucuses held after this date will most likely be irrelevant.

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