According to the latest public opinion polls, Mitt Romney, with 24 percent, leads with a slice of a margin over Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. As Iowa voters get ready to go to their caucuses tonight and cast their first votes in this election year, what results can we anticipate? What impact will the Super PACs’ big money invested in the campaigns have on the election? As a guest of Democracy Now! this morning, The Nation‘s DC correspondent and columnist John Nichols analyzes the state of the election, each Republican candidate’s campaign and the facts that may actually influence voters’ decisions. Speaking of the unlimited money spent on the election and the negative campaign ads that have become excessively prominent in the media, Nichols warns that “if we don’t get serious about addressing Citizens United, we’re going to end up with a much uglier, much more destructive politics.”

—Jin Zhao