The Iowa caucuses used to be noteworthy as the first major contest of the United States presidential primary season. Although caucus-goers have been unrepresentative of the nation's overall ethnic demographic, caucuses are still seen by some as a strong indicator of how a presidential candidate will do in later contests. This could be seen as a "self-fulfilling prophecy", however, due to the positioning of the Iowa caucus as the first major contest in the election season; being the first, it strongly influences later races and provides candidates with momentum going into the following contests. Further, candidates who do poorly in the Iowa caucus are likely to drop out in the following days.