CEDAR RAPIDS — Although they won’t create the excitement of presidential election-year caucuses, Iowa’s Democratic and Republican 2018 precinct caucuses will be Monday, Feb. 5.

The state parties announced Monday that, as usual, they will kick off their caucus to convention process with precinct caucuses at the same time.

“The Iowa caucuses represent the very best of American democracy,” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. “As we head into 2018, Iowa Republicans and Democrats are glad to renew our continued commitment to a fair, open and honest caucus to convention process.”

“One of the most important job our two parties have is to ensure that our caucuses are open, honest, and transparent — both for our candidates and our voters,” added Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. “We are committed to constantly innovating and improving the caucuses so each year is better than the last. We look forward to a competitive primary season and a spirited debate about the issues that matter most to Iowa next fall.”

In addition to the caucuses, both parties will have their district and state conventions on the same dates — April 28 and June 16, respectively. County conventions will be two weeks apart with the GOP going first on March 10 and Democrats following March 28.

The 2018 elections will be highlighted by the race for governor. Also on the ballot will be four U.S. House races, 100 Iowa House seats and 25 Iowa Senate seats, as well as county offices and statewide constitutional offices.

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