The race for president kicks into high gear today. The Iowa caucuses are tonight meaning Iowa Democrats crafts will be the first Americans to weigh in on who the Democratic Party's nominee should be to take on president trump in November. This is a big night in the presidential cycle the Washington Post reports. Because Iowa is I it could influence voters in the rest of the country at least for the Democrats on the Republican side. President trump is pretty much locked in and will most likely be on the ballot valid in November there are a couple of Republicans running against him. But they're not really picking up momentum as for the Democrats it's a super tight race so the nation is watching right now there are some front runners the AP reports Joe Biden Bernie Sanders Elizabeth. Warren and Pete Buddha judge are neck and neck in recent polls but other Democrats like Amy Klobuchar Dr Andrew Yang could pick up new momentum in all of this as well and just as a reminder presidential primaries and caucuses both have the same purpose. They're held every every four years to select the top Democrat and top Republican to show up on the ballot in November. But here's how they're different. Voting in primary is a lot like voting in a general election. You you go to your polling place or get a mail in ballot and it's run by the state government but a caucus is run by the political party and feels more like a town hall where registered voters gather in person an and debate the candidates. They can have different rules but for Iowa. Democrats people may even try to persuade each other in small groups and they show their support openly of course Iowa voters odors are the first to have a say but primaries and caucuses throughout the country will run