The first votes which count are set to be cast in the 2016 U.S. presidential race in Iowa.
Caucuses are essentially community meetings where towns get together to decide which candidate they would back at the eventual nominating convention, this year in July in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jeremy Mayer of George Mason University explains that while Iowa is a small state with small number of delegates, it's political process holds a unique role.
IN: "Since nineteen...
OUT: ...on their hands."
DUR: 27
CLIP: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0131iowa-mayer1.mp3
Polls have indicated that Donald Trump is in the lead on the Republican side, while Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in a virtual tie on the Democrat side.
But with a winter storm bearing down on Iowa, the question is whether their supporters will actually show up for the caucuses in their towns.
Joe Abbey, an political analyst with Purple Strategies, says the American presidential race will make a lot more sense after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries next week.
IN: "Voting is...
OUT: ...really quickly."
DUR: 21
CLIP: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0131iowa-abbey1.mp3
***
The latest short-form news audio from FSN Bureaus worldwide