Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday, and also the kick-off to the voting for the U.S. president on November 5.  How important is the Iowa caucus? This caucus will only select 1.6% of Republican delegates to Milwaukee in mid-July. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans in Iowa are either white evangelical or white born again Christians. Since 2000, no Iowa Republican winner has ever become president .  However, in 2016, Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump.  Then Trump in 2000 beat off challengers, but lost to Joe Biden. Only Barack Obama in 2008 won the Democratic vote and went on to become president. In 2020, Biden lost to Pete Buttigieg, made a recovery in South Carolina, which will be the third primary site, and will probably determine which Republican will become the party nominee for president. Why? The way these caucuses/primaries are organized, independents can sometimes determine the winner. While all states generally allow anyone to show up and say they are Republican,

The following calendar from JustSecurity is a  list of all upcoming Donald Trump trials . While the full calendar below tracks hundreds of events, here are the   top 25 legal and political dates   as of now:  Monday, January 8, 2024   –   GA: Motions (other than motions   in limine ) due (for all defendants except Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark and David Shafer) Tuesday, January 9, 2024   –    DC Trump Case: Oral arguments in Trump D.C. Circuit appeal of Judge Chutkan order denying his motions to dismiss based on Presidential Immunity and constitutional grounds, at 9:30 AM ;   MAL: Joint discovery status report due ;   Oregon 14A: Parties supplemental briefing due on (1) whether the plaintiffs have standing, and (2) what authority the Oregon Secretary of State has in the matter Thursday, January 11, 2024   –   NY Civil Fraud: Parties closing arguments Monday, January 15, 2024   – Iowa Republican Presidential Caucuses Tuesday, January 16, 2024   –   MAL: Defendants motions to compel discov