Warning: this is not going to be easy.
In fact, nothing about the U.S. primaries and caucuses is going to be easy. It's confusing. It's crazy. It's mayhem. And it hurts my brain.
Here's what the primaries and caucuses are: they are meetings in which people in a given state assign delegates to the national conventions of the two political parties. At the national conventions, the parties, through these delegates, chose who their leaders will be. And then those two, one from each party, try to destroy each other's reputations and lives in the hopes of becoming, as the lesser of two evils, the president of the United States of America.
So, the Republicans and the Democrats had their Iowa caucuses on January 3.
Of the 45 delegates up for grabs at the Democratic caucuses, Barack Obama got 16, John Edwards got 14, and Hillary Clinton got 15 (even though she had less support than Edwards - I told you it wouldn't be easy to understand).
(There will also be 12 "superdelegates" from Iowa at the Democratic National Convention, though I don't know what superdelegates are or how or when they're chosen. I do know they're not chosen yet.)
Of the 37 delegates up for grabs at the Republic caucuses, Mike Huckabee got 17, Mitt Romney got 12, Fred Thompson got three, John McCain got three, and Ron Paul got two. (There will also be three "unpledged RNC member delegates" from Iowa at the Republican National Convention, though I don't know what unpledged RNC member delegates are or how or when they're chosen. I do know they're not chosen yet.)
On January 5, the Republicans held their Wyoming caucuses (though the Democrats won't hold theirs until March 8).
Of the 12 delegates assigned from Wyoming, Romney got eight, Thompson got three, and Hunter (wait, who is this Hunter guy? I've never even heard of him; Duncan Hunter is his name and he's a California Congressman) got one delegate. (Two more delegates will be chosen at a state convention in May. I don't know why.)
One thing to remember: the Democratic National Convention (in August) will have 4,049 delegates; the Republic National Convention (in September) will have 2,380 delegates. It's also worth pointing out that just because it says Obama, or anyone else, has a certain number of delegates, not all of those delegates have to vote for him at the national convention. You know why? Because this system is crazier than Charles Manson!
So, the Republicans:
Mitt Romney - 20
Mike Huckabee - 17
Fred Thompson - 6
John McCain - 3
Ron Paul - 2
Duncan Hunter - 1
And the Democrats:
Barack Obama - 16
Hillary Clinton - 15
John Edwards - 14
And, of course, tonight: New Hampshire, which is a primary, not a caucus. Then, a long way to go.