The term "early primaries" refers to a group of presidential nominating contests that occur before April in any given election year. These early primary states include Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which traditionally hold their contests in January or February. The purpose of these early primaries is to give smaller states an opportunity to have a significant impact on the presidential nomination process by holding their elections before larger, more populous states. This allows candidates who may not be as well-funded or well-known to gain attention and support from voters, potentially leading to a broader base of supporters in later primaries and caucuses.