Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are leading polls in the first state scheduled to host a 2016 presidential referendum: Iowa.

The Democratic National Committee revealed the Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 1, 2016. In a poll conducted in Iowa by Suffolk University and USA Today, currently, Iowans prefer the two former presidential candidates over other potential nominees.

Romney, the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, easily led the poll, with 35.29 percent support, when respondents were asked which potential Republican candidate they would vote for in 2016. The second most popular choice was "undecided" with 10 percent, third was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, followed by current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 8.82 percent and 6.47 percent, respectively.

For the Democratic Party, Clinton was the only name to receive double digits. Clinton received 66.49 percent support, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, with 9.95 percent and Vice President Joe Biden with 7.85 percent.

In 2008, Clinton placed third in the Iowa caucus with 29.4 percent, behind candidates Barack Obama's 37.6 percent and John Edwards' 29.7 percent. In 2012, President Obama won the Iowa caucus with 98.9 percent.

The 2012 Iowa Republican caucus saw the closest race in the state's caucus history, with only 34 votes separating the top two candidates. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won the Republican Iowa caucus with 24.56 percent, ahead of Romney's 24.53 percent. While Santorum won the popular vote, he received zero delegates, while then-Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, gained the most delegates, despite his third place result.

Based on the Iowa poll, the major political parties will need to encourage independent voters to attend the caucuses in 2016. More than 30 percent of respondents registered with the Independence Party or with no party preference plan to skip the 2016 caucus. The second popular choice was to vote in the Republican caucus, with 27.32 percent followed by "undecided," with 22.40 percent. The Democratic Party might need to engage those voters, as the party's caucus was the fourth popular choice of 18.03 percent.

As Latin Post reported, the DNC selected Feb. 1, 2016, for the Iowa caucus.

In regards to Obama, 82.70 percent of respondents still "feel good" about voting him for a second term. When asked to rate Obama's job performance, 52 percent disapproved while 42.40 percent favored.

For the 2014 midterm elections, Iowa voters are split with respondents narrowly favoring Democratic candidates with 43.20 percent while the Republican candidates garnered 42.20 percent. Most respondents said Obama is not a factor when casting their vote in November.

Of the 500 participants in the Iowa survey, Suffolk University revealed only one percent of respondents were Latino compared to 94.40 percent for white.