US politics heats up

One of the greatest political shows kicks off with primary voting in the Iowa caucus tomorrow

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Clinton Middle School in Clinton, Iowa January 30, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

After months of debates and campaign stops, the US presidential election gets official on Monday with primary voting for Democratic and Republican candidates in the Iowa caucus. The campaign has been anything but dull up until this point. Personalities from Donald Trump on the Republican side to Independent turned Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders have already shifted the boundaries of acceptable American political discourse.

Personalities aside, this election carries with it the promise to upend the traditional American political order. The Iowa caucus will be a telling event that will reveal the extent to which Americans are serious about electing outsiders with unorthodox political ideologies. Will Mr Trump’s populist rhetoric resonate with voters? Are the people ready to support Mr Sanders’s economic reforms? We will soon have some answers. Regardless of the results, however, Iowa marks the beginning of a long race and one of the greatest political shows on Earth.