National Journal: How the 2016 Republican Primary System Works.

A look at what the Republican candidates are actually running for right now.

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After a pres­id­en­tial nom­in­at­ing fight that many Re­pub­lic­ans felt was too drawn out in 2012, party lead­ers worked to con­dense the pro­cess in 2016. Those changes came to fruition this month as the Re­pub­lic­an Na­tion­al Com­mit­tee rolled out its primary cal­endar and del­eg­ate al­loc­a­tion rules for the 2016 elec­tion.

The GOP primary sea­son will start a month later than it did in 2012, with Iowa hold­ing its first-in-the na­tion caucuses on Feb. 1 in­stead of Jan. 3. But the pro­cess will also end a month earli­er, as the 2016 con­ven­tion is set for Ju­ly 18, rather than late Au­gust.

The cal­en­dar is also more del­eg­ate-heavy at the front end, as 45 per­cent of all the GOP del­eg­ates avail­able will be awar­ded by mid-March. But in the first two weeks of March, states must award their del­eg­ates pro­por­tion­ally, mean­ing there could still be ample op­por­tun­ity for mul­tiple can­did­ates to com­pete deep in­to the con­test.