Editing Caucus (section)

==In the United States==

[[Image:2008 Wash State Democratic Caucus 15.jpg|thumb|right|Precincts from Washington State's 46th Legislative District caucus in a school lunchroom (2008)]]
In United States politics and government, ''caucus'' has several related but distinct meanings. Members of a [[political party]] or subgroup may meet to co-ordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices.

===Caucuses to select election candidates===
{{further|Iowa caucuses|Texas caucuses|Nevada caucuses|Colorado Caucus}}
{{See also|United States presidential primary|United States presidential nominating convention}}
There is no provision for the role of political parties in the [[United States Constitution]]. In the first two presidential elections, the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] handled nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 which selected [[George Washington]]. After that, Congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party's presidential candidates. Nationally, these caucuses were replaced by the party convention starting in 1832 following the lead of the [[Anti-Masonic Party]] 1831 convention.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shafer|first1=Byron E|title=Bifurcated Politics: Evolution and Reform in the National Party Convention|date=1988|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0674072561|page=[https://archive.org/details/bifurcatedpoliti00shaf/page/11 11]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAQ_cWsAW-cC&q=Emergence+of+the+Presidential+Nominating+Convention%2C+1789%E2%80%931832&pg=PA11|access-date=February 1, 2016|chapter=Emergence of the Presidential The Nomination and the Convention|url=https://archive.org/details/bifurcatedpoliti00shaf/page/11}}</ref>

The term ''caucus'' is frequently used to discuss the procedures used by some states to select [[presidential nominee]]s such as the [[Iowa caucuses]], the first of the modern [[Partisan primary|primary]] [[United States presidential election|presidential election cycle]], and the [[Texas caucuses]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/23/heres-how-the-iowa-caucuses-work/ |title=Iowa caucuses: Here's how the voting works |last=Weigel |first=David |date=2016-01-23 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |access-date=2016-02-26 }}</ref> Since 1980 such caucuses have become, in the aggregate, an important component of the nomination process.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZC2mB4e_TCIC |title=Why Iowa?: How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process |last1=Redlawsk |first1=David P. |last2=Tolbert |first2=Caroline J. |last3=Donovan |first3=Todd |author-link2=Caroline Tolbert |date=2011 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226706962 |language=en }}</ref>

===Congressional caucuses===
{{main|Congressional caucus}}
Another meaning is a sub grouping of officials with shared affinities or ethnicities who convene, often but not always to advocate, agitate, lobby or to vote collectively, on policy. At the highest level, in [[United States Congress|Congress]] and many state legislatures, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] members organize themselves into a caucus (occasionally called a "conference").<ref>See, e.g., [http://www.dems.gov U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus], [http://www.gop.gov U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference]; [http://democrats.senate.gov/members/ U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus]; [http://src.senate.gov U.S. Senate Republican Conference]; [http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/ California State Senate Democratic Caucus]</ref> There can be smaller caucuses in a legislative body, including those that are multi-[[Partisan (political)|partisan]] or even [[Bicameralism|bicameral]]. Of the many [[Congressional caucus]]es, one of the best-known is the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], a group of [[African-American]] members of Congress. Another prominent example is the [[Congressional Hispanic Caucus]], whose members voice and advance issues affecting [[Hispanics]] in the United States, including [[Puerto Rico]]. In a different vein, the Congressional Internet Caucus is a bi-partisan group of Members who wish to promote the growth and advancement of the Internet. Other congressional caucuses such as the [[Out of Iraq Caucus]], are openly organized tendencies or [[political faction]]s (within the [[House Democratic Caucus]], in this case), and strive to achieve political goals, similar to a European "platform", but generally organized around a single issue.