© 2026 ABC News

In 2012, roughly 120,000 people participated in the caucuses -– about 38 percent of whom were first-time caucus-goers.

Kayli Nuce, 22, who was caucusing for the first time with her husband at an elementary school in Dubuque, IA, said she and her husband got on line at 6:15 p.m., thinking they were early. They ended up in the overflow room.

Nuce said the speakers giving speeches about the candidates had to give them twice, first in the school auditorium and then run to the gym, which had been set up as the overflow room.

Nuce also said there were so many people at her caucus location that they ran out of ballots. She had to write her choice on a piece of paper.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/iowa-republican-caucuses-break-previous-turnout-record/story?id=36654474","legacySlug":"/news/story/iowa-republican-caucuses-break-previous-turnout-record-36654474","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"03:28","publishDate":"02-02-2016","updatedTime":"20:10","updatedDate":"02-02-2016","socialImage":{"alt":"Caucus goers raise their hands to be counted during caucus night at the State Historical Society of Iowa, Feb. 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. ","credit":"Al Drago/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/GTY_caucus_3_cf_160201_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"2/2/2016 03:28:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":36654474,"headline":"Iowa Republican Caucuses Break Previous Turnout Record","mediaAssetTitle":"STRUYK_Voter_Turnout_Iowa_020116","description":"Iowa voters showed up to their caucuses Monday night in record numbers.","duration":"2:30","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/02/160201_vod_orig_iowa_klein_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["137060236","137028746","136712647"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"October 7, 2026","headline":"French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","section":"News","slug":"/video/137060236","id":"137060236","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"October 6, 2026","headline":"How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","section":"News","slug":"/video/137028746","id":"137028746","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"September 24, 2026","headline":"Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast ","section":"News","slug":"/video/136712647","id":"136712647","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast and hurricane heading for Hawaii","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast and hurricane heading for Hawaii","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Iowa Republican Caucuses Break Previous Turnout Record","description":"Iowa voters showed up to their caucuses Monday night in record numbers.","duration":"2:30","uploadDate":"02-02-2016","publication":"02-02-2016","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/02/160201_vod_orig_iowa_klein_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/02/160201_vod_orig_iowa_klein_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/iowa-republican-caucuses-break-previous-turnout-record-36654474"}},"playlist":[{"id":"136253720","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137220313","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137234817","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137147457","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137132187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945841","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136930796","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136874802","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136841854","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136766868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136694294","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136682772","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136631130","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136644492","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136623234","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136614308","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136605272","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136553132","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136553226","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Iowa Republican Caucuses Break Previous Turnout Record","pubTime":"22:28","pubDate":"02-01-2016","modTime":"15:10","modDate":"02-02-2016","taxonomyTags":"none","id":36654474,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Iowa Republican Caucuses Break Previous Turnout Record","mediaAssetTitle":"STRUYK_Voter_Turnout_Iowa_020116","videoId":36654474,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/iowa-republican-caucuses-break-previous-turnout-record-36654474"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/36654474","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/36654474","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};