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Neither state has conducted public polls. However, the outcome in Idaho seems obvious to some whereas Alaska remains a mystery.

For the first time, Idaho will have a caucus to proportionally allocate its delegates.

“After decades of politely waiting for the rest of the country to choose our Presidential nominees, Idaho finally gets a chance to make a difference,” wrote Idaho GOP Caucus Committee Chairman Ronald M. Nate in a blog post.

Each of the four major candidates has visited the state, making strong campaigning efforts. Because of the large Mormon population in Idaho, the iconic Latter Day Saints candidate Mitt Romney is favored to win most of vote. The notoriously “red” state is one of the most conservative in the country, which could help Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum snag some of the state’s delegates.

But it's not yet certain what will happen in Alaska. In 2008, Romney won Alaska “convincingly” as the conservative alternative to John McCain, the Washington Post reported. His previous victory could mean he still has a backing from the state. Only Ron Paul made a stop in the state, although his competitors made other campaigning efforts via telephone or radio.

“This particular contest is almost invisible to most voters,” said James W. Muller, chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Alaska Anchorage. “It has gotten very, very little attention in the press. And it’s kind of a popularity contest in the sense that it doesn’t directly determine who gets how many delegates or anything.

“My expectation, for what it’s worth, is that [Romney’s] fairly likely to do reasonably well,” Muller said in a phone interview, adding that Romney has support from Alaska’s Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and the senior Senator Lisa Murkowski.

He noted that Santorum and Gingrich could see support from the strong anti-abortion sector. Likewise, Paul has fair support from the numerous military voters.

According to the United Press International, Inc. Paul could have a strong showing in Alaska because his libertarian politics are “a good fit for the state.”

The state's largest political concern is resource extraction - specifically oil and natural gas - which gave Romney the edge on McCain in 2008. When it comes to the general election, the state is likely to favor the Republican candidate because the Obama administration has been unfriendly to these industries that are crucial to Alaska's economy, Muller said.

Twenty-four of Alaska’s 27 delegates will be proportionally allocated; the other three belong to members of the Republican National Committee. After Tuesday’s caucuses, the state will have district conventions to select the delegates that will attend the state convention in April. How Alaska's delegates will be divided among the top four still remains to be seen.

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Reach staff reporter Karla Robinson here.