Revealed: January 14, 2024 12:27 PM
With simply at some point to go till Iowa’s presidential caucuses, candidates are urging their supporters to courageous bone-chilling chilly and blustery wind to assist carry them by way of Republicans’ leadoff voting contest.
Right here’s what to know:
How will the Republican caucuses work in 2024?
There shall be two fundamental agenda objects at each Republican caucus web site: holding a binding vote for the celebration’s presidential nominee and electing delegates to attend county conventions, which is the following step within the multi-tiered technique of electing delegates to attend the Republican Nationwide Conference in Milwaukee this summer time.
The binding presidential vote capabilities primarily like a party-run main, solely with very restricted polling hours and no lodging for absentee voting, aside from a tiny handful of abroad and navy voters.
There are speeches on behalf of varied candidates earlier than the voting and a wide range of celebration enterprise after the vote. Particular person caucus chairs are allowed to train some discretion in easy methods to conduct the vote, however the voting is completed by secret poll and there’s no set checklist of candidates. Voters have to be given the choice to vote for any candidate they select. Up to now, some caucus websites have pre-printed the names of main candidates and offered a write-in choice, however usually, voters vote by writing the title of a candidate on a clean slip of paper.
There is no such thing as a strolling across the caucus room to kind candidate choice teams. That voting technique was a characteristic of Democratic caucuses from 1972 to 2020 however is not in use by both celebration in 2024.
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‘A little too cold’ for the DeSantis kids
DeSantis took the stage with his wife and three young children Sunday night, joking that the severe weather has a little TV-style comic irony to it.
“We could do a sitcom on this,” DeSantis said. “Taking a Florida family and dropping them in the middle of a blizzard.”
DeSantis, who commonly travels with his kids, said that as of last month they had never seen snow and that they were excited when they did. “They had snowball fights and all that stuff,” he said. “They loved it.”
In the meantime, the temperature has dropped to well below zero on top of a foot of snow, forming glacier-like snowbanks.
“Well, now after seeing all this,” he said, “they say it’s a little too cold.”
Ernst shows up at DeSantis event, too
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst doesn’t want to be accused of not playing fair.
Hours after she appeared at an event with Haley in Ames, Ernst was among a crowd of more than 200 at a DeSantis event in Ankeny. She kicked off the event by introducing DeSantis’ lieutenant governor, Jeanette Núñez.
Haley offers well wishes for family of slain Iowa principal
At her closing event of the last day ahead of Iowa’s GOP caucuses, Haley offered well wishes for the family of an Iowa principal who died Sunday of injuries suffered in a school shooting earlier this month.
“Today my heart dropped again when I learned that we lost Dan Marburger,” she said, speaking in a wood-paneled lodge packed with several hundred supporters. “This principal was a hero. He saved lives.”
Marburger died 10 days after a 17-year-old student opened fire at Perry High School. An 11-year-old middle school student also died in the shooting, which ended with the gunman’s death.
“God bless (Marburger) and his family,” Haley said. “And we have got to finally acknowledge once and for all the cancer that is mental health in America.”
Former Iowa chair says Haley is ‘leaning into the future’
David Oman, a former co-chair of the Iowa Republican Party, says he thinks Haley is far and away the best choice for the GOP, in part because she’s “leaning into the future.”
“I felt in my head and heart that the choice is pretty easy,” Oman said ahead of Haley’s final pre-caucus day event. “She’s got some good policy ideas and a lot of energy – what’s not to love?”
He also said that the country needs a president “to come in and take stock of new ideas and new people in key roles, reassert our leadership – that speaks to national security, which for me is always an important issue, and some of the others are frankly a little weak, in my view.”
What’s at stake in Iowa
For Democrats, nothing is at stake, since the 2024 caucuses will have no bearing on the presidential race.For Republicans, there are usually two prizes in the Iowa caucuses: delegates and bragging rights.
Iowa Republican voters will indicate their picks for the party’s presidential nominee, and the results of that vote will determine how many of the state’s 40 convention delegates each candidate will receive.
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Iowa’s Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump
Pastor Charles Hundley opened his worship service on a cold Sunday earlier this month in northeast Des Moines with a prayer that made it clear one endorsement above all will matter in Iowa’s caucuses.
“We thank you for the upcoming election, Lord — or caucus, as we call it in Iowa,” said Hundley, speaking from the sanctuary of his evangelical Christian church in his slight Texas drawl as his parishioners bowed their heads.
“It doesn’t matter what our opinion is,” he went on. “It’s really what’s your opinion that matters. But you’ve given us the privilege of being able to exercise a beautiful gift. The gift of vote. We thank you for that.”
While Hundley stops short of suggesting to his parishioners which candidate divine guidance should lead them to support, he is among more than 300 pastors and other faith leaders who’ve been described as supporters by former President Donald Trump’s campaign. It’s a message that some members of Hundley’s First Church of God have taken to heart, saying their faith informs their intention to caucus for Trump.
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The Republican race takes shape before the caucuses
Both former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has bet big on Iowa, exuded confidence in national interviews as they compete for a caucus showing that will boost their campaigns even if they don’t beat Trump.
The final Des Moines Register/ NBC News poll before Monday’s caucuses found Trump maintaining a formidable lead, supported by nearly half of likely caucusgoers, compared with 20% for Haley and 16% for DeSantis.
Haley and DeSantis remain locked in a close battle for second.“With our folks, they’re committed, they’re gonna be there,” DeSantis said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” noting that the Republican calendar doesn’t end with Iowa. “We’re going to have a good night.”
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Our very complicated democracy
Nothing about picking a president in America has ever been as simple as one person, one vote.
From the complexities of the Electoral College to voter suppression campaigns to deals cut in the smoke-filled rooms of the 1900s, the reality of American politics has long made electing the president a more complicated process than just adding up who got the most votes.
Always a divided nation, the U.S. is especially polarized as the 2024 presidential campaign unfolds. The nation is awash in misinformation and distrust – so much so that millions believe the lie that the last presidential election was stolen. There are fresh threats to voting rights and the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down decisions that will influence the race before most voters have their say.
As Americans return to the ballot in 2024, The Associated Press explores all that goes into picking a president in our very complicated democracy – and how it can still work.
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What’s a caucus and the way is it completely different from a main?
A political caucus is a gathering of individuals with a shared curiosity or purpose. The Iowa caucuses are a collection of native conferences held all through the state the place individuals conduct celebration enterprise and normally point out their choice for a presidential nominee to symbolize the celebration on the November poll.
It’s additionally step one in a months-long course of to pick out folks to function delegates to the nationwide celebration conventions this summer time.
One of many fundamental variations between caucuses and primaries is the period of time allotted for voting to happen and the strategies by which individuals can vote. In a main, folks can present up on the polls and forged ballots all through Election Day, from the early morning till polls shut within the night.
The Iowa caucuses, however, are held within the night and voters should attend in individual as a way to take part, besides in a couple of remoted cases. Caucuses are run by political events, whereas primaries are normally (however not all the time) run by the state.
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Watch: Protestors crash Trump rally on Sunday
Donald Trump’s rally was briefly interrupted by protesters in Iowa Sunday— the primary time it’s occurred in years. “You’ve taken tens of millions!” a lady shouted as Trump was mid-rally, prompting the group to reply with a “Trump!” chant to drown her out.
The Civil Conflict retains arising for candidates
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent a lot of the summer time mired in controversy over new academic requirements that decision for instructing that slaves developed expertise that “may very well be utilized for his or her private profit.”
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley failed final month to say slavery as the foundation reason behind the Civil Conflict.
And former President Donald Trump final weekend referred to as the Civil Conflict “so fascinating” and stated it may have been “negotiated,” sidestepping the basic dilemma of slavery.Such moments mirror pressure contained in the GOP — the Get together of Lincoln that abolished slavery, gained the Civil Conflict and launched into Reconstruction — with the Iowa caucuses simply across the nook.
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Who will courageous the chilly?
Heading into the caucuses, a lot of the main target has been on Trump’s sturdy standing. The shock could finally be extra in regards to the turnout and who would profit from the brutal winter storm limiting participation.
In any case, the caucus isn’t constructed for comfort. Those that take part should enterprise out after darkish to considered one of 1,567 areas, nearly all the time requiring a drive. The roads shall be icy, the wind chill shall be dozens of levels under zero. Iowans are a famously hardy inventory, however even they might flinch at venturing out in these circumstances.
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Iowa Republican chief predicts ‘sturdy’ caucus turnout
DES MOINES—Iowa Republican Get together Chair Jeff Kaufmann is feeling extra optimistic about caucus turnout than he was a couple of days in the past.
“Should you would have requested me this and the caucuses would have been two days in the past, I might have stated we’d have considerably much less turnout,” Kaufmann instructed reporters at a briefing hosted by Bloomberg on Sunday.
Clear skies Sunday that helped create circumstances for crews to clear the roads bolstered his confidence. He stated he was extra involved about icy roads than about low temperatures, which he stated Iowans had been accustomed to.
With out placing a precise quantity on it, Kauffman stated, “I believe it’s going to be a sturdy turnout.”
What to observe in Iowa: Who wins second
Iowa seems to be a battle for second place given Trump’s dominance. The actual query is whether or not both of the 2 Republicans who lead the pack of very distant also-rans could make it a two-person race in the long term.
To do this, they in all probability have to a minimum of come out of Iowa with a silver medal.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as soon as talked of successful the state, however he’s lowered expectations to easily having displaying. Along with his marketing campaign equipment in turmoil and funds drying up, he wants a robust end.
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What’s going to Ramaswamy’s mark be?
One of many extra sudden facet plots within the 2024 Republican main has been Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old pharmaceutical entrepreneur who wrote a e book referred to as “Woke, Inc.” after which determined to run for president.His aggressive, social media-driven strategy initially attracted some curiosity from Republican voters however appeared to show many off after he attacked rivals throughout the debates.
Ramaswamy’s hard-charging model could not precisely be “Iowa good,” however neither is Trump’s and he’s far forward. Ramaswamy has been throughout Iowa, hitting the marketing campaign milestone of visiting all 99 counties within the state not as soon as, however twice.
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DeSantis dons an overcoat days after leaving his at house
DeSantis is sporting a winter coat once more.
The Florida governor was bundled up at a marketing campaign occasion in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, days after he left his coat at house within the Sunshine State when he was there delivering his State of the State handle Tuesday.
“That is my winter coat. I’ve not worn this since I’ve been governor as soon as,” DeSantis stated in Iowa.
He instructed a crowd at a development contractors conference in Des Moines on Wednesday that his workers was hustling his coat from Tallahassee.
Freezing in Iowa? This voter continues to be sporting shorts
DUBUQUE — Mark Calhoun wears shorts on daily basis of the 12 months.
The 61-year-old fan of DeSantis (and the Dallas Cowboys) ventured out in subzero temperatures Sunday — with naked legs — to see the candidate in Dubuque.
“He’s what we want,” Calhoun stated.
The coldest caucus temperatures gained’t maintain him away Monday.
‘That is good pizza,’ Trump says after cease at Casey’s
WAUKEE — Trump and his former-rival-turned-backer, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, dropped by a Casey’s comfort retailer to select up pizzas after his Indianola rally.
“The most effective you’ll ever have,” stated a Casey’s employee as he handed over the meals.
Trump then made one other cease to ship the pizzas to members of the Waukee Hearth Division. He handed the stack of bins out down the road of these assembled and chatted about their vans and their work.
Trump then requested for a slice of his personal.
“Good luck, everyone,” he stated earlier than taking a chunk and persevering with to speak as he ate. “That is good pizza, by the way in which,” he stated.
Iowa Sen. Ernst introduces Haley at marketing campaign occasion
AMES— Talking to a room packed filled with Iowans and out-of-state volunteers, Haley gave an abbreviated model of her marketing campaign speech, drawing frequent cheers from the pink necklace and boa-clad “Ladies for Nikki” volunteers.
“It’s been eleven months, and it comes right down to tomorrow,” Haley stated of Monday’s caucuses, repeating her frequent name to GOP voters to elect her as a “new generational chief that leaves the negativity and the luggage behind and focuses on the options of the long run.”
Haley was launched by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who hasn’t endorsed a candidate within the 2024 marketing campaign however stated the previous South Carolina governor is “inspiring so many individuals throughout the state of Iowa, inspiring them a lot to get out and assist her within the caucuses, assist her on this quest for the nomination of the Republican Get together for our president of america.”
How an animated determine may assist Trump rally Iowa voters
The Trump marketing campaign has been taking part in an tutorial video earlier than occasions in Iowa explaining how the quirky caucus course of works. (Jan. 9)
Volunteers swarm Iowa to assist in giving candidates last-minute increase
AMES — Out-of-state volunteers have descended on Iowa to assist increase enthusiasm for his or her given candidates within the waning hours earlier than the state’s leadoff caucuses.
On Sunday in Ames, dozens of girls festooned in scorching pink feather boas and beaded necklaces waved “Ladies for Nikki” indicators forward of her afternoon occasion.
Considered one of them was Alissa Baker, who stated she has been calling Iowans and knocking on doorways since she arrived from Virginia on Saturday.
“We’ve stepped up our efforts on cellphone banking and positively been making much more cellphone calls,” Baker stated. “We’re doing all the things that you’d usually do to get out the caucus assist.”
On Monday evening, Baker stated she would function a caucus captain for Haley’s marketing campaign within the Ames space, telling caucusgoers why they need to assist the Republican.
Rubio endorses Trump
WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has turn into the twenty fourth Republican senator to endorse Trump for president.
Rubio’s endorsement on Sunday means the 2 U.S. senators from Florida at the moment are firmly behind Trump as an alternative of DeSantis, their home-state governor. Trump is now one Republican senator wanting securing the bulk assist of the GOP senators.
“I assist Trump as a result of that type of management is the ONLY approach we’ll get the extraordinary actions wanted to repair the catastrophe Biden has created,” he stated on X, previously generally known as Twitter. “It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!”
The endorsement of Trump is a little bit of a shock, on condition that Haley endorsed Rubio when he was operating within the 2016 Republican presidential marketing campaign. Rubio dropped out of that race after dropping Florida.
Hutchinson isn’t giving up on Iowa
He hasn’t been as seen on the marketing campaign path this week as a number of the different Republican contenders, however Asa Hutchinson continues to be homing in on Iowa.
The previous Arkansas governor was noticed Sunday on the identical Ames barbecue restaurant the place Haley was internet hosting a marketing campaign rally. Hutchinson met with some lunchtime diners and did a media interview earlier than heading out.
Hutchinson certified for the primary Republican candidate debate however didn’t meet the markers for the next 4. He stated final week that he expects to beat expectations in Iowa’s caucuses.
Iowan says DeSantis’ response to Hamas assault cemented his assist
COUNCIL BLUFFS — Hans Rudin, a 49-year-old group faculty adviser in Council Bluffs, Iowa, says DeSantis’ response to the Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Hamas gained the Florida governor his assist.
Rudin supported Trump previously two elections however has now determined to caucus for DeSantis. The DeSantis administration organized flights for Individuals evacuating from Israel and despatched cargo planes with well being care provides, drones, physique armor and helmets.
“The particular set off was Israel,” Rudin stated, including that he didn’t like Trump’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after the assault saying he “allow us to down” about one other operation by which the U.S. killed prime Iranian common Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
“I assumed, This man’s type of a jerk. Nicely, I knew that beforehand in some ways, however I like Israel a lot,” he stated.
Nonetheless, Rudin stated he would nonetheless assist Trump over President Joe Biden if Trump turns into the Republican nominee.
Vote, it doesn’t matter what, Trump says
INDIANOLA — Trump is telling his supporters to not let something cease them from voting for him in Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
“You’ll be able to’t sit at house. Should you’re sick as a canine … Even if you happen to vote after which go away,” Trump stated at his Sunday rally.
Snow stops, however frigid temperatures set in
The snow could have stopped falling throughout Iowa, however proof of the treacherous storm that bore down on the state earlier this week stays.
Main interstates within the Des Moines space had been largely clear on Sunday, however wrecked automobiles and tractor-trailers stranded within the snowstorms of current days littered medians and areas simply off the street.
Bone-chilling temperatures have now set in throughout the state forward of Monday evening’s presidential caucuses. In Des Moines on Sunday afternoon, it was largely sunny and chilly, with a excessive close to minus-9 levels Fahrenheit (minus-23 Celsius). The wind chill made it really feel as chilly as minus-30 Fahrenheit (minus-34 Celsius).
‘Return to Mommy,’ Trump tells protesters who crash his rally
INDIANOLA _ Trump’s rally was briefly interrupted by protesters — the primary time it’s occurred in years.
“You’ve taken tens of millions!” a lady shouted as Trump was mid-rally, prompting the group to reply with a “Trump!” chant to drown her out.
“Return to Mommy,” Trump responded as she was led out of the room. “So younger and immature.”
Moments later got here one other protester, this one holding a black and yellow banner that learn “Trump Local weather Felony.” He shouted the identical factor. The identical group interrupted a DeSantis city corridor and a separate occasion for the Florida governor in Ames final week.
When he was operating in 2016, Trump’s occasions had been routinely interrupted by protesters.
“That used to occur on a regular basis,” Trump remarked. “It all the time provides pleasure.”
Couple heads to DeSantis occasion after Haley’s cease canceled
DUBUQUE _ Judy and Brad Knowler drove a couple of miles from Peosta to listen to Haley in Dubuque. A few hours later, after Haley’s in-person cease was canceled, they discovered themselves down the street at an occasion for DeSantis.
Brad, 67, is certain he’ll assist Haley in Monday’s caucuses, however Judy, 64, hoped to listen to her in individual to “give me just a little bit extra confidence.” From debates and destructive political advertisements, she stated, “it’s actually arduous to see the actual individual.”
“I’ve one foot in Nikki’s camp, however we’ll see,” she stated as she waited for DeSantis to take the stage. “It’s a possibility most Individuals don’t get to be this shut in individual.”
Trump says Iowa win could be a victory over the ‘liars, cheaters’
INDIANOLA—Trump sounded a message of vengeance at his solely Iowa rally this weekend.
“These caucuses are your private likelihood to attain the final word victory over all the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps and different fairly good folks,” he stated at a commit-to-caucus occasion in Indianola.
“The Washington swamp has carried out all the things in its energy to remove your voice,” Trump added. “However tomorrow is your time to activate them and to say and converse your thoughts and to vote. And we’re going to take this nation again.”
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Trump swaps out his signature pink MAGA hat for the day in Iowa
Trump dons a white and gold “Trump caucus captain” hat as he speaks to volunteers at Lodge Fort Des Moines in Des Moines on Sunday. “Now we have an enormous day arising,” he stated.
‘Stroll on glass’ for Trump? These supporters would
INDIANOLA _ Marc Smiarowski hunched to combat off the minus 18-degree chill exterior the Kent Scholar Middle on Simpson School campus Sunday morning, ready for doorways to open for former President Donald Trump’s noon rally on the small faculty south of Des Moines.
However because the weak winter solar hung low within the sky, a way of bitterness burned in Smiarowski.
“I’m right here partially out of spite,” stated the 44-year-old public utility employee, who drove 40 miles to be there. “I can’t abandon him. After what they did to him within the final election, and the political persecution he faces, I really feel like I owe him this. He’s our solely choice.”
“Nobody else may deal with what he’s going through,” added his pal Kailie Johnson, a 26-year-old dental hygienist from the identical small city of Huneston.
Greater than half-hour earlier than the middle opened, greater than 100 folks stood in line whereas layered in Carhartt coveralls with hats and hoods pulled down tight. It was a check run for Iowa’s caucuses Monday and of the devotion Trump stated final week would make his supporters “stroll on glass” for him.
Haley wins backing from ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
WASHINGTON _ Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan endorsed Haley for president on Sunday, saying he feels she is the strongest likelihood for Republicans to win in November.
He acknowledged on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “it’s fairly clear” that Trump will win Monday’s Iowa caucuses however stated he believes Haley has the momentum to turn into a robust nominee.
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Iowa’s winter blast may make an unrepresentative approach of selecting presidential nominees much more so
Most Iowans gained’t be out Monday evening. By no means thoughts that it’s forecast to be effectively under zero, with wind chills as little as minus 40 levels, and the roads should be icy from a set of snowstorms that hammered the state this previous week. It’s as a result of they’re not registered with the Republican Get together, which is kicking off the presidential nominating season with its well-known caucuses.
Iowa’s brutal winter climate is making an unrepresentative course of even much less consultant. The subzero temperatures, icy roads and life-threatening wind chills could maintain some Republican caucusgoers house on Monday. However solely a tiny slice of the state even takes half within the kickoff to the GOP presidential nominating course of, anyway.
The state’s inhabitants is whiter, extra rural and evangelical than the remainder of the nation. As Iowa has turn into a firmly Republican state, the 2 main events have diverged on their nominating schedules: The Democrats are beginning on Feb. 3 with South Carolina whereas the GOP is sticking with Iowa. However some specialists say there’s an argument for kicking issues off in a small state.
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Nikki Haley skips an in-person marketing campaign cease over poor climate circumstances
DUBUQUE — Haley’s marketing campaign cease in Dubuque was canceled Sunday morning due to poor journey circumstances, the marketing campaign stated about an hour earlier than the scheduled occasion.
Voters strolling into the venue got the information by marketing campaign staffers, who provided some a T-shirt, hat or yard signal as comfort.
John Schmid, 69, was already ready on the venue when the occasion was referred to as off.
“I don’t blame her,” stated the retiree from Asbury, a couple of miles exterior Dubuque. He’s already a Haley supporter, however he needed to see the “refreshing” candidate in individual. He hopes Haley will do effectively in Monday’s caucuses, which he’ll be at regardless of the bitter chilly.
“It’s simply a part of residing in Iowa in January,” he stated.
Haley swapped the in-person occasion with a digital city corridor.