what does "to Iowa caucus" mean?

[NewHopeR]

Context:
G.O.P. Race Still Unsettled in Sprint to Iowa Caucus

By JEFF ZELENY

With a little over a week to go, it is an unusually fluid contest, with various factors that could tip the scales in favor of one or another candidate.

 

[SoothingDave]

Iowa caucuses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See the link. Most states simply hold primary elections. Iowa holds caucuses, where people have to meet together and discuss/debate candidates before getting down to voting.

Iowa is the first state to choose candidates for the US Presidency.

 

[riquecohen]

Note that the quote you have underlined is a newspaper headline. Because of limited space, these headlines aren´t always complete sentences. The grammatically correct headline should read G.O.P. Race is Still Unsettled in the Sprint to the Iowa Caucuses.

 

[Raymott]

Note that the quote you have underlined is a newspaper headline. Because of limited space, these headlines aren´t always complete sentences. The grammatically correct headline should read The G.O.P. Race is Still Unsettled in the Sprint to the Iowa Caucuses.

R.

 

[NewHopeR]

Thank you guys.

I got much clearer from your explanations. But what does "to" mean in the headline "G.O.P. Race Still Unsettled in Sprint to Iowa Caucus"?

 

[waflob]

The Iowa Caucus is the destination.

 

[NewHopeR]

The Iowa Caucus is the destination.

So it means the race depends on Iowa Caucus?

 

[5jj]

So it means the race depends on Iowa Caucus?

No. The Iowa Caucus is rapidly approaching.

 

[waflob]

It's actually a lot easier than you think.

Imagine a journey - you're travelling from A to B. In this case, "Iowa Causus" is the equivalent of "B".

 

[Raymott]

So it means the race depends on Iowa Caucus?

Only insofar as the that is where it ends.
G.O.P. Race Still Unsettled in Sprint to Iowa Caucus
Look this is simple -- although some the imagery seems to be from horse-racing, with horses being unsettled and sprinting to the finish.
Members of the GOP are having a race. They are sprinting to a finish which is at the Iowa Caucus. The race is still unsettled, which I'd guess means that the leadership keeps changing, there is no clear leader, candidates make a dash then fall back.
The winner is the person who is leading when the Iowa caucus takes place. They are not actually physically sprinting to the Iowa caucus. I don't think they even need to have reached the Caucus before it starts.

You need to read up about the US electoral system and what the state Caucuses do, and what the significance is to candidates if you want a 100% clear understanding of that article.

 

[NewHopeR]

Only insofar as the that is where it ends.
G.O.P. Race Still Unsettled in Sprint to Iowa Caucus
Look this is simple -- although some the imagery seems to be from horse-racing, with horses being unsettled and sprinting to the finish.
Members of the GOP are having a race. They are sprinting to a finish which is at the Iowa Caucus. The race is still unsettled, which I'd guess means that the leadership keeps changing, there is no clear leader, candidates make a dash then fall back.
The winner is the person who is leading when the Iowa caucus takes place. They are not actually physically sprinting to the Iowa caucus. I don't think they even need to have reached the Caucus before it starts.

You need to read up about the US electoral system and what the state Caucuses do, and what the significance is to candidates if you want a 100% clear understanding of that article.

　Excellent!

Crystal clear now.

Thank you. Thank you all.

 

[BobK]

The sprint to the Iowa Caucus wasn't like the 24 Hours of Le Mans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (in the days when it was an actual sprint... ;-) though now I think of it it'd make for a good spectator sport). The confusion arises from the fact much of the language of what is to come uses spatial metaphors (like 'ahead', 'target'. 'destination' and so on.)

b

 

[riquecohen]

Note that there are more than 1700 Iowa caucuses. When we refer to the Iowa caucus, we are targeting only one of the many precincts in which the caucuses are held. See SoothingDave's useful link in post #3.