The next US presidential election may not be until November, but the race to be the Republican candidate on the ballot box is already well under way.

Heading into the Iowa caucus on 1 February, the first of the 50 states to nominate which candidate they want to represent their respective party, the GOP currently holds an extremely wide field.

Twelve Republican candidates are currently featuring on major independent nationwide polls: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump.

In this video, IBTimes UK takes a look at who each candidate is and their respective strengths and weaknesses as they enter the race to be the next US president.

Read our guide to the Democrat candidates here

More about the US election 2016
US Election Donald Trump Ted Cruz Ben Carson