Iowa has been the place to be during the past few weeks. Every time we turned around it seemed as though another presidential candidate was in town, numerous celebrities and musical acts in tow trying to get every last vote they could before the Iowa caucuses.

Students and other civic-minded individuals would arrive in droves to show their support — or disdain — each time a candidate rolled into Ames or any other city in Iowa. A ton of work has gone into digesting the information dished out by both Republicans and Democrats during the past few months to try and decipher where people’s vote would go. Polls show that this process was a close one as both parties’ front-runners were only a few percentage points apart from each other as the number of weeks to the caucuses dwindled.

Especially being an Iowan, a lot of responsibility was put on our shoulders leading up to Monday night to go out and caucus, but with that responsibility came a mountain of attempts to sway us. January was plastered with so many televised campaign ads that it was nearly impossible to make it through a commercial break without hearing a little something from each candidate.

So now, on the day after the historical night, it may feel as if the responsibility has been lifted, but quite the contrary.

It is likely that the number of candidates will start to fall in the coming days based on the results, and for some, that means the person they wanted to be elected is out of the running. This shift could also be viewed as the time when paying attention to the 2016 presidential election no longer seems necessary. This idea is also misguided.

It’s true, the caucuses are over and the spotlight that has been held over the state of Iowa for the past few months has started to fade, but that does not mean that what is going on in the presidential campaigns is no longer relevant. This is especially true for those who no longer have a “favorite” running for the White House.

It’s for those whose ideal candidate is losing steam that paying attention to the candidates who did prevail in the Iowa caucuses is most important.

During the height of campaign season, people latched onto the views of the candidate they felt was the most qualified for the job of commander in chief, but this also meant not highlighting other candidates’ potential to lead the United States moving forward.

Whether a Democrat or Republican, it is of the utmost importance that we refocus on those who continue forward in the fight to be elected at the end of 2016 and stay involved in the direction that our country is headed.