The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. While existing when Iowa was granted statehood in 1846, it did not gain broad electoral success until the mid-1950s, when demographic changes resulted in many new voters for the party from immigrants, union members, and industrial workers. The party organizes the Democratic Iowa presidential caucuses, which since 1972 have been the first presidential nominating contest in the national process.