The Iowa caucuses are a series of electoral meetings held by local political party members to select delegates to the national convention and to register preferences for candidates running for the U.S. president. The Iowa caucuses are noteworthy in that they have been the first major electoral event of the nominating process for president of the United States since 1972. Representing only 1% of the nation's delegates, the Iowa caucuses are nonetheless important because they serve as an early indicator of which presidential candidates may eventually win the party nomination, and which ones may drop out for lack of support.