LINN COUNTY -- Iowa Democrats and Republicans will caucus on the same day next year -- January 3, 2008.

Republicans bumped up their caucus date a few weeks ago. Late Sunday night, Democrats did the same thing.

Iowa Democrats decided it was best for both parties to caucus on the same date.

They said separate caucus dates could cause confusion and weaken Iowa's role in the presidential nomination process.

Local Democratic leaders aren't worried about Iowa losing its place as the nation's first caucuses.

"The candidates right now that have been campaigning in Iowa have a vested interest here. They're not going to fold up shop and go elsewhere. It would not benefit them in the least to do that," Linn County Democratic Chair Mike Robinson said.

Candidates spend millions campaigning in Iowa before the caucuses. But, volunteers run the caucuses...often in donated spaces.

Organizers have had to do extra planning this year to keep up with the changing dates.

"I would say, you know I would really like January A,B,C,D and E...and they would look at me and say, 'Wow. That's a lot,'" Linn County Democrats First Vice Chair Diane Hoffmann said.

Local Democrats say moving the caucuses to early January makes sense, but moving them to December could be disastrous.

"We don't have the site locations in December. We don't have the volunteers for December. It would just be a major nightmare," Robinson said.

Iowa's place as first in the nation is secure for now, but other states are eager to take that title.

"I think that Iowa will always have to make its case and that it will be more and more difficult as the years go through," Hoffmann said.

So, the sprint to see who caucuses first in 2012 could start even before the 2008 presidential race has a winner.
Monday morning, caucus organizers plan to start making all those calls to churches, schools and community centers to change to the date.

They're all hoping this will be last time they have to reschedule.