So far, the 2016 presidential election has clear leaders from each party, with Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic race while Donald Trump leads the Republican race.

As election day gets closer, numbers have shifted, with Bernie Sanders getting closer to Clinton. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz gains support and poll numbers over Trump. The upcoming Iowa caucus could be a game changer for both parties, even though the last two winners of Iowa didn’t win the primary.

In Iowa, Trump is behind, and in some polls tied with Sen. Cruz, according to CNN.  CNN also reports as of Tuesday, Jan. 28 that Trump is up 22 in the 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination, and up 7 in the Iowa Presidential Candidate Caucus (reported by The Real Politics), which could even further his lead on all of the other Republican candidates.

Cruz is in second place in the Iowa Presidential Candidate Caucus as of Jan. 26, but led the polls on Jan. 6 with a 5.7 lead over Trump.

As the Iowa caucus gets closer, the impact it can have in the nomination numbers for Republicans is a huge matter all candidates are focusing on.

Donald Pippin, IB Psychology teacher, commented on the importance of winning the Iowa Caucus.

“That calculus is no longer in play, the calculus before was always that a moderate, such as McCain or Romney needed to do well enough among conservatives in Iowa in order to bring the party together and have a chance at beating president Obama,” Pippin said. “That calculus doesn’t work anymore because a large part of both Trump and Cruz’s appeal of that way of thinking.”

As the primary comes closer alliances can shift, meaning candidates can loose their electoral support. As the events unfold and the future of the primary becomes clear, you can keep up with the race with the last Republican debate before the primary and watch the Iowa caucus unfold Monday Feb. 1 on FOX.