On Jan. 3, all across Iowa, the campaigning ends and the voting begins. Thousands of Iowans will enter gyms, libraries and private homes to participate in a ritual of the American political system.

The struggle to keep the movement going, and activists engaged in work more incremental than immediate, is particularly acute right now in Iowa. Here, the Occupy effort has had a focus for the past few months: the presidential caucuses. But what happens after Jan. 3?

With just one holiday weekend between now and Tuesday's Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa, there's another poll signalling that it could be a close battle at the top between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Ron Paul often says that he has received more donations from active military personnel than the other GOP candidates combined. That's intriguing, given that Paul is the only candidate calling for significant cuts in military spending. Pro-Paul veterans in Iowa explain why they support him.

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry has been aboard a bus touring Iowa hoping to score an upset in next Tuesday's caucuses. Perry spent Thursday trying to reverse the surge that challenger Rick Santorum has seen in a recent poll.

GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann wrapped up her bus tour of Iowa's 99 counties Thursday. She's been on the road for most of the last two weeks in a final push to generate support before Tuesday's caucuses.