Iowa Democrats pick Jan. 3 as caucus date

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Iowa's Democrats have joined the state's Republicans in settling on Jan. 3, 2008, for their presidential caucuses.

In a vote Sunday night, Iowa's Democratic State Central Committee approved transferring the date from a tentatively scheduled date of Jan. 14, The Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported Monday.

The earlier date, a Thursday, keeps Iowa in the forefront of the primary election calendar.

The caucuses in 1,788 precincts in Iowa will fall on the end of the holiday season and on the night of football's Orange Bowl, but the date is better than Jan. 5, a Saturday, which had been discussed, said central committee member Peggy Smalley of Audubon.

"I've read in the paper about campaign concerns about college students not being back, but I don't know how big a part that will play," Smalley said.

New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner has said Iowa's date would influence what date he chooses for his state's traditionally first-in-the-nation primary.