Welcome to the new year, and more importantly, welcome to the 2012 presidential election.

As a matter of fact, it started in earnest last night, as voters in Iowa took part in their quirky caucus system to select the first official delegates for the party nominations.

The results from Iowa came in after our press time, so who gets the coveted tickets out of Iowa is still being decided. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul were the front-runners in the polls going into the caucus, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum making a late charge.

In the past, three viable candidates have usually emerged from Iowa, but with this year’s wild campaign in which nearly every candidate has taken the lead at least once (anyone remember Herman Cain?), there’s a good chance four may make it to New Hampshire next week.

Closer to home, there’s a possible contested primary emerging for Rep. Spencer Bachus. The Republican from Vestavia Hills, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has run into some controversy over his stock and option trading in the past, which critics say came about thanks to insider information gained through his office. Bachus has denied those claims, but the nine-term congressman still may face a primary challenge from State Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale, who has had his own political wild ride last year. Beason has until Jan. 13 to enter the race.

In any event, the 2012 election promises to be fiercely fought, and rarely boring.

We suspect that’s just as the Founding Fathers would have liked.