2012 Caucus: Feb. 7 a Big Night for Lakeville, Minnesota

After months of debates and heavy campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada, the scramble for the White House finally arrives in Minnesota this week: people of all political stripes will caucus on Tuesday.

will have all your local coverage of the caucuses and the Republican Presidential Preference Ballot, including live-blog updates from Lakeville's only Republican Caucus site at , as well as updates from other caucus sites around Dakota County.

LAST TIME AROUND

In 2008, Lakeville's caucusing Republicans favored Mitt Romney in the preference ballot, though he didn't win the party's nomination. He received 710 of the 1,369 total votes cast—good for 52 percent—in Senate District 36, which includes all of Lakeville and a few other precincts from neighboring communities. John McCain received 275, or 20 percent, with Mike Huckabee, 236 votes, and Ron Paul, 132, bring up the rear.

On the Democratic side, 2,247 caucus goers voted, and an overwhelming 64 percent—1,428 voters—preferred President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton had just 815 votes, or 36 percent of the total ballots cast.

WHERE DO I CAUCUS?

Caucus sites for Lakeville residents include:

• Republican (GOP)—All Lakeville precincts will caucus at , 19600 Ipava Ave. For more information about the Senate District 36 GOP, click here. This is expected to attract more than a thousand people since the presidential preference ballot to determine the next Republican nominee for president will highlight the caucus.

• DFL—All Lakeville precincts will caucus at , 21135 Jacquard Ave. For more information about the Senate District 36 DFL, click here. Turnout isn't expected to be anything near 2008 as the Democratic nominee for president is an incumbent.

• Independence—A caucus for the entire Second Congressional District, which includes all of Lakeville, will be hosted by a delegate in Apple Valley. The Independence Party website says more details will be available later this month. For more information about the Independence Party, click here.

In Minnesota, the DFL, Independence and Republican parties are considered major parties. For the definitions of major and minor political parties in Minnesota, click here.

All caucuses begin at 7 p.m.

WHAT IS A CAUCUS?

A caucus helps a political party gain consensus as to how voters have aligned their political and candidate preferences. This year, the top story is at the Republican caucus where the field is still split four ways between would-be presidential contenders—the ostensible front runner , former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

But at a caucus, there’s more going on than just candidate selection. Participants hash out the party's platform and sometimes select county committee chairs that go to a state—and sometimes national—conventions.

What distinguishes a caucus from a primary is that at a primary, voters don’t have to be present at one particular location at a specific time. For a primary, voters just go to their polling place and cast a vote, the same as they would do at a general election.

For a caucus, you have to be physically present at your designated caucus site, register, show your party affiliation and then participate in the process. Attendees participate directly.

To take part in a caucus, you must be eligible to vote in the 2012 general election and live in the precinct.

Each party has its own rules and guidelines it follows.

WHO CAN CAUCUS?

Caucuses are intended to be remarkably transparent. They are open to the public and participation is encouraged. In order to vote in a caucus, offer resolutions or become a delegate, however, attendees must be eligible to vote in the upcoming general election, live in the precinct, and generally agree with the principles of the political party in question (a die-hard Republican couldn't moonlight at a DFL caucus, for instance, in the hopes of influencing the candidate selection to their own party's advantage).

For more information, go to the Minnesota Secretary of State's FAQ page.