Number of delegates at stake in Iowa: 28
Number of delegates that winning 50 percent of the vote gets you: 14
Number of delegates that frontrunner will get if he finishes with 25 percent of the vote: 7.
Number of delegates that the second-place finisher will get if he finishes with 21.5 percent of the vote: 6.
Number of delegates at stake in New Hampshire: 12.
Number of delegates that winning 50 percent of the vote gets you: 6.
Number of delegates that winning 34 percent of the vote gets you: 4.
Number of delegates that go to the winner in Florida, under current rules: 50.
Number of delegates that go to the second-place finisher in Florida, under current rules: 0.
Number of delegates at stake on Super Tuesday, March 6: 438.
Number of delegates needed to win the Republican presidential nomination: 1,144.
Total number of delegates: 2,286.
Note that delegates in Iowa aren't even really assigned by the straw poll at the beginning of the caucus.
They will take a straw poll and then elect delegates to the next level (which I think is the county convention). Unlike in the Democratic caucuses, there's no formal connection between the two, though when I attended a caucus with my parents in 1988, the people who were interested in being delegates declared their loyalties and were elected roughly proportionally to the straw poll results.
Those delegates will elect delegates to the Congressional District conventions, IIRC, which elect the delegates to the state convention, which will elect delegates to the national convention. The state convention will be a couple of months before the national convention; practically speaking, all delegates elected to represent Iowa at the national convention will be supporters of whomever has wrapped up the nomination.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo we're all obsessed with Iowa, which is likely to produce only 7 delegates for the winner, while Florida will produce 50? Fifty? I didn't know that, and I bet most people following the nomination don't know that. We hear nothing about Florida, and it's lot more important than Iowa. Yeah, I know, Iowa is all about momentum, etc., but still . . . the winner is only going to get 7 delegates? Sheesh!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJens is correct, no delagates are assigned at the Iowa Caucus for the Republican side. The voting is actually called a "Presidential Preference Poll" and is completely non-binding. So it is little more than another straw poll. Iowa Delegates are determined at the state convention in the summer, and will more than likely support the party nominee. Jim, change all your delagate numbers in your post to zero for Iowa...drives the point home even more.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMathematically, you are absolutely correct. But the mathematics do not matter nearly as much as the appearance of success for the campaign among the media, and potential contributors nationwide.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhich clarifies just how ridiculously outsized the influence of these two small states is.
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