The Iowa caucuses are almost here (thank goodness) and the political pundits continue to weave their opinions and best guess scenarios on who will emerge victorious, but why? When it comes to Republican candidates, the good people of Iowa have a spotty record of selecting who will win the party nomination.

In 2012, Rick Santorum received 25 percent of the vote along with Mitt Romney. Ron Paul garnered 21 percent with Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman rounding out the field. In 2008, Mike Huckabee got 34 percent of the vote, Romney with 25 percent John McCain, the eventual nominee getting only 13 percent.

The 2012 Republican caucuses also had some drama associated it. Initial results showed Romney beat Santorum by just 8 votes, but when the final results came out two weeks later Santorum secured the victory over Romney by a margin of 34 votes with Paul in a strong 3rd. Results were certified by the Caucus but not by the Republican party who declared it a split decision due to missing reports from 8 precincts, however they later certified the caucus as a win for Santorum. The caucus winner changed yet again when the Iowa delegate totals were finally determined giving Paul the win along with several other states that same weekend.

So again, why is Iowa so important? Sure it’s nice to have momentum and winning is always better than losing, but the Iowa caucuses reminds me a lot of pre-season football games. It’s a chance for the candidates to practice and get in shape for the real game; Super Tuesday.