艾奥瓦州于2012年1月3日举行预选会议，拉开选出参加总统大选的民主党和共和党候选人的序幕。令艾奥瓦州引以为傲的是，它是“在全美国第一个”投票选举总统提名人的州。

2012 年 1 月 3 日，艾奥瓦州选民将参加该州的预选会议，这些活动一直是美国总统侯选人提名程序中的首轮重要选举。

令艾奥瓦州引以为傲的是，它是“在全美国第一个”投票选举总统提名人的州，这是一种提高该州知名度和媒体能见度的荣耀。有些州曾尝试把它们的总统预选或初选日期提到艾奥瓦州之前，但都没有成功。通常以其玉米田和小城镇价值观著称的美国中西部的这个州，由于选举日程的安排每四年便能享受一次政治舞台上耀眼的光芒。

新罕布什尔州的初选将在艾奥瓦州预选之后一周举行；此后的几个月内美国各州和领地的选民将纷纷在总统提名的选举中投票。

预选会议（caucus）这个名称来自美国原住民语言中的一个词语，意为部落会议。艾奥瓦州总统预选会议主要是召开一系列社区会议，吸引选民去学校、 教堂和图书馆选出出席州提名会议的代表。代表们都已经承诺推选具体的共和党或民主党候选人，因此其代表获得最多支持的两大主要政党竞选人被宣布为预选会议的获胜者。

在这张摄于2008 年 1 月 3 日的照片中，当时任纽约州参议员的希拉里 · 克林顿（Hillary Rodham Clinton）与她的丈夫前总统比尔 · 克林顿 （右）和他们的女儿切尔西 (右侧较远处) 及其他支持者一起出席在艾奥瓦州得梅因市（Des Moines, Iowa）举行的预选活动。

When Iowa holds its caucuses on January 3, 2012, the state will begin the process of choosing its preferred candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. Iowans pride themselves on being “first in the nation” to vote during the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.

On January 3, 2012, Iowa voters will take part in their state’s caucuses, which are always the first major electoral events of the nominating process for president of the United States.

Iowa prides itself on being “first in the nation” to vote for presidential nominees, a distinction that boosts the state’s clout and media visibility. Some states have attempted, unsuccessfully, to move their presidential caucuses or primaries ahead of Iowa’s. The voting schedule allows this Midwestern state normally known for its cornfields and small-town values to enjoy the political limelight every four years.

One week after the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary election takes place, and for the next several months, voters in U.S. states and territories will shape the presidential nominating contest.

The name “caucus” is derived from an American Indian word for a tribal conference. The Iowa presidential caucuses, essentially a series of neighborhood meetings, attract voters to schools, churches and libraries to elect delegates to a state nominating convention. Delegates are already pledged to specific Republican or Democratic candidates, and the two major-party candidates whose delegates garner the most support are declared winners of the caucuses.

In this January 3, 2008, photo, then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York appears with her husband, former President Bill Clinton (right), their daughter Chelsea (far right) and other supporters at a caucus-night rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

See also: How Raucous Is the Caucus? and Presidential Candidates Step Up Campaigns in Critical States.