# caucus race

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/caucus-race
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

The competitive process in which a political party selects their candidate, especially presidential; a primary election via caucus.

## Examples

- The candidates are busy preparing for the caucus race.
- Many voters pay close attention to the early states because they often decide the winner of the caucus race.
- Local organizers are setting up gymnasiums and community centers across the state to host the first official caucus race of the season.
- Political analysts spent weeks debating which candidate possessed the necessary momentum to emerge victorious from the grueling and unpredictable caucus race.

## Origin

From caucus (“regular party committee meeting of elected MPs”) + race (“contest between people”); a reference to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter III "A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale", being a nonsensical satire thereof: all participants have to run in circles until an arbitrary end is called and everyone is declared a winner; Alice has to give prizes to them all, and being declared a winner too, the Dodo solemnly takes her thimble and awards it back to her.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.