Iowa voters prepare to head to polls amid bitter cold as first GOP caucuses near

January 14, 2024 02:20pm ET

Iowa voters will have to push through bitter cold weather to cast their votes in the Republican presidential caucuses on Monday. Former President Trump holds a wide lead in polls released just ahead of election day, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Covered by: Anders Hagstrom, Paul Steinhauser and Greg Wehner

FAST FACTS:

Iowa voters will have to push through bitter cold weather to cast their votes on Monday, with forecasts predicting temperatures well below zero across the state
Trump maintained his commanding lead in the final poll ahead of election day, followed by Nikki Haley and then Ron DeSantis

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1 hour(s) ago

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‘It’s you and me now,’ Nikki Haley declares to Donald Trump before Iowa Caucus

Former South Carolina Nikki Haley issued a challenge to former President Trump ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Haley declared to Trump that “it’s you and me now,” following the release of polls showing her in second place against Trump and beating out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump still maintains a commanding lead over the field in polling, however.

Fox News’ Andrew Murray contributed to this report

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1 hour(s) ago

How do the Iowa caucuses work?

Drake University professor and Co-Chair Rachel Paine Caufield joined Fox News on Sunday to explain how Iowans conduct their caucus process.

Iowans will head to the polls through freezing cold weather on Monday, and Caufield says Iowans “take pride” in kicking off the election process.

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1 hour(s) ago

Trump’s Fox town hall tops CNN’s Haley-DeSantis debate

Fox News senior national correspondent Kevin Corke and Fox News contributor Ben Domenech discussed the difference in ratings and tone between former President Donald Trump’s town hall on Fox News and the CNN debate between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.

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1 hour(s) ago

Trump weighs in on whether he will top 50% of the vote in Iowa caucuses

Former President Donald Trump’s confident he’ll do “very well” in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, which lead off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar.

But the former president isn’t ready to make prediction on if he’ll top 50%.

As he left his hotel in Des Moines on Sunday morning enroute to headline a campaign rally in nearby Indianola, Iowa, Trump was asked by Fox News’ James Levinson on whether he would receive more than 50 % of the vote in the caucuses.

“I don’t know, I think we are doing very well,” Trump answered.The former president is the commanding front-runner in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run.

He grabbed 50% support, or higher, in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. And he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers was released Saturday night. His closest rivals – former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey.

The closely watched and highly anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and is considered by many as the gold standard in Iowa polling.

Trump and his campaign have been attempting to downplay the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital this weekend. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

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3 hour(s) ago

Nikki Haley cancels Iowa caucus event after blizzard grounds plane in Des Moines

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was forced to cancel a campaign event in Dubuque, Iowa on Sunday after blizzard conditions prevented her plane from leaving Des Moines.

Her campaign says she is now holding a tele-town hall event instead. Poor weather is proving to be a major factor in the GOP contest in Iowa. Voters will have to brave temperatures well below zero across the state, which is widely expected to impact turnout.

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3 hour(s) ago

Former Gov. Larry Hogan endorses Nikki Haley ahead of Iowa caucuses

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is backing Nikki Haley’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

The moderate Republican, who seriously mulled a Whit House run of his own in 2022 after completing two terms steering blue-state Maryland, said that Haley is the “strongest chance” for the GOP to put forward the best possible standard-bearer in November’s presidential election.

“I’ve been saying since last spring when I made the decision not to run that I really didn’t want to see a multi-car pileup,” Hogan said Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” as he pointed to the once crowded and combustible field of Republican contenders rivaling former President Donald Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner in the GOP 2024 nomination race.

“So yes. I think it is time for the party to get behind Nikki Haley. … I believe Nikki Haley is the strongest chance for us to put forth our best possible candidate for November.”

Hogan recently stepped down from a leadership role the centrist No Labels organization, that has been seeking to find a third-party candidate to run on a unity ticket in the fall.Asked about his decision to step down from the No Labels leadership position, Hogan said “I’m focused on trying to nominate the strongest possible Republican, which is why I’m urging everyone to get behind Nikki Haley.”

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser authored this report

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3 hour(s) ago

DeSantis reveals his prediction for Iowa as voters prepare to head to the polls

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted that he would “do well” when Iowa Republicans vote in the party’s presidential caucuses on Monday.

DeSantis joined Fox News Sunday with host Shannon Bream, arguing that he and his campaign have put in more work than any other candidate. Recent polls show DeSantis trailing in third behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Trump.

“Do you need to finish second here in Iowa?” Bream asked.

“We’re gonna do well,” DeSantis responded. “I appreciate being the underdog…I do better in those situations, and I think I have a record of doing well as the underdog. We’re gonna do well, and we look forward to doing the next contest.”

“We’ve been working hard. We’ve been doing a great job, and I think Monday is going to be the pivot point where, now that people start to actually vote, I think it’s gonna help change the landscape,” he added. “There has not been a candidate that has worked harder…Iowans notice that. You’re not entitled to just be nominated. You don’t just swoop in and get coronated. You’ve gotta earn it, and we’ve earned it.”

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4 hour(s) ago

Iowans don’t believe President Biden is ‘competent,’ which will drive turnout: Jeff Kaufmann

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss potential voter turnout for Monday’s caucuses on Sunday.

Kaufmann noted the freezing cold temperatures that could turn off some voters from the polls, but he argued frustration with President Biden’s leadership will push residents to suffer through.

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5 hour(s) ago

Nikki Haley brushes off Rand Paul’s ‘Never Nikki’ campaign push: ‘Doesn’t faze me’

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley isn’t fazed by Sen. Rand Paul’s “Never Nikki” pledge and says she was never looking to have the Kentucky Republican in her corner as the campaign trail to crucial states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina heats up.

“I don’t think any informed or knowledgeable Libertarian or conservative should support Nikki Haley,” he said, citing her “attitude” toward U.S. interventions overseas and her alleged “involvement” with the military industrial complex, among others.

Haley, responding to Paul’s jabs on Saturday, told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade she isn’t taking the criticism personally, saying her opponents can continue to “play games” as they choose.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to keep talking to people about how we’re going to get inflation down, how we’re going to get our kids reading again, how we’re going to secure the border once and for all, how we’re going to bring law and order back to our country, and how we’re going to have an America that is strong,” she said.

Read the full article by Fox News’ Taylor Penley

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5 hour(s) ago

Nikki Haley spent thousands on luxury hotels despite claims she runs ‘a tight ship’

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign spent thousands on luxury hotels last year despite her team’s claim it runs “a tight ship” and stays in “affordable” lodging.

According to Haley’s third-quarter disbursements filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), her campaign spent over $11,000 on high-end, four- and five-star hotels.

That included stays at The Breakers, a luxurious hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Wave Resort in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Other hotel expenditures listed in the report include stays at a high-end Fairmont Hotel in Texas, an Omni Hotel, a J.W. Marriott and multiple stays at the upscale Hotel Fort Des Moines in Iowa.

Read the full article by Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie

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5 hour(s) ago

Ron DeSantis placed his chips on Iowa’s caucuses. Will his 2024 bet pay off on Monday?

Standing in front of a jam-packed room at the Iowa headquarters of a super PAC supporting his White House bid, Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis stressed “we’ve done it the right way.”

The Florida governor has spent much of his time and resources in Iowa, the state whose caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

And with his presidential campaign arguably on the line in Monday night’s caucuses, DeSantis was urging his supporters to brave the frigid below zero temperatures that are punishing the Hawkeye State to show up and vote.

“It’s going to be cold. It’s not going to be pleasant. But if you’re willing to go out there and you’re willing to fight for me, if you’re willing to bring people to the caucus, if you’re willing to brave the elements and be there for the couple of hours you have to be there, if you’re willing to do that, if you’re willing to fight for me on Monday night, then as president I’ll be fighting for you for the next eight years,” DeSantis emphasized.

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to former President Donald Trump in the Republican White House race. For months, he was solidly in second place behind Trump, who’s the far-and-away front-runner in the latest Iowa polls and in national surveys.

Read the full article by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser

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6 hour(s) ago

Iowa voters get candid with Lawrence Jones, highlighting their top issues for the 2024 election

‘Fox & Friends’ co-host Lawrence Jones reported from Sioux City, Iowa to preview the Iowa caucuses with local voters on Sunday.

Jones met with residents who expressed confidence that former President Trump would take the win then voters head to the polls on Monday.

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6 hour(s) ago

Trump first, Haley second, DeSantis third in final poll ahead of Iowa caucuses

Former President Donald Trump remains the commanding front-runner in a closely watched poll of likely Republican presidential caucusgoers in Iowa.

And former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley edges Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place.

The final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers was released Saturday night, two days before the Iowa caucuses lead off the 2024 GOP presidential nominating calendar.

Trump stands at 48% support in the poll, with Haley at 20% and DeSantis at 16%

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has relentlessly campaigned across the Hawkeye State the past couple of months, stands at 8% support in the poll.

The new poll is the second straight survey in Iowa to indicate Haley ahead of DeSantis, following a Suffolk University poll that was released a few days ago. But her advantage over DeSantis in the new survey is within the sampling error.

Read the full breakdown of the poll by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser