Haley and DeSantis come out swinging in GOP debate
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Amid record-cold and fast-falling snow, the 2024 Iowa caucuses are just one away, and Republican Party candidates for president are attempting to make their final pitches to voters across the state.
With temperatures digging deeper than even native Iowans are used to, many campaign events have been called off or gone virtual, and there are some concerns about what the bitter weather will mean for turnout on Monday.
While Donald Trump holds a substantial polling lead, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley are fighting hard for second place in the hope it will give them the boost they need ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump’s town hall with Fox News beat the GOP debate between Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley in the ratings.
Nielsen said on Thursday found that around 4.4 million people tuned in to watch the former president’s event – almost double the 2.6 million who watched his two Republican rivals on CNN.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie failed to meet the criteria to join the debate and Mr Christie dropped out of the race hours before it got underway.
1705249643On the ground in IowaThe Independent’s John Bowden is on the ground in Iowa providing updates ahead of Monday’s caucuses.
Here is his latest dispatch:
Candidates continued their respective last-minute pushes in Iowa on Saturday and into Sunday morning, despite bitter subzero temperatures and a biting wind that left most roads in outright dangerous conditions across the state. Donald Trump cancelled events on Saturday and was due for an in-person appearance Sunday afternoon — his campaign has largely checked out of in=person events as a new NBC/DMR poll shows him leading the state by double digits. Nikki Haley. Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis all pushed ahead in person, working their respective audiences and making a final push for voters on Monday. Ms Haley picked up a weekend endorsement from anti-Trump Republican Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, while Mr DeSantis saw his campaign tailed by liberal pranksters and his poll numbers dropping him into third place.
John Bowden14 January 2024 16:27
1705248021Results of the final Iowa pollThe Iowa Caucus, the first major political event of the year, will go ahead on Monday, as parts of the state continue to grapple with blizzard conditions and sub-zero temperatures,
The poll shows former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley narrowly edging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place, although the gap is within the poll’s margin of error, according to NBC.
The poll shows Mr Trump commanding 48 per cent of the vote, with Ms Haley taking 20 per cent and Mr DeSantis on 16 per cent.
Read more from Mike Bedigan:
Megan Sheets14 January 2024 16:00
1705246652WATCH: Trump arrives in IowaDonald Trump touched down in Iowa on Saturday night – appearing ill-dressed for the frigid weather.
“It’s a lot of cold weather,” the ex-president remarked before saying he has “a lot meetings” tonight and slipping past reporters.
Megan Sheets14 January 2024 15:37
1705240674How Trump broke the Iowa caucusesDonald Trump has hosted massive rallies in Iowa, speaking to hundreds and sometimes thousands of people at once. If fewer than 400 attended, it was considered a small event.
The ex-president looks likely to win Monday’s contest handily having done very little, if any, of the small-scale campaigning that used to be required to win. Iowa is no longer universally seen as the stepping stone it once was.
Eric Garcia and Gustaf Kilander explain how Mr Trump upended the state’s caucus system:
How Donald Trump broke the Iowa caucusesEric Garcia and Gustaf Kilander look into if the Iowa caucuses has lost the qualities that gave the state its outsized role in American presidential politics in the first place
Megan Sheets14 January 2024 13:57
1705237200What to watch out for in the Iowa caucusesPolitical analysts hoping for clues about the trajectory of the rest of the primary, and most crucially an answer to the question of whether anyone has a chance at beating Mr Trump, are looking at Iowa closely. Monday’s results will likely determine the fate of several candidates, while also providing a window for speculation about the general election.
Here’s what The Independent is keeping an eye on over the weekend:
John Bowden14 January 2024 13:00
1705226400How do Trump’s trial dates and the Republican primaries intertwine or overlap?In a typical presidential election year, candidates will spend the 11 months leading up to Election Day shaking hands and kissing babies at rallies as the primaries unfold.
But nothing is typical when it comes to Donald Trump.
Instead, the ex-president will be forced to juggle his campaign for the White House while also defending himself in federal and state courts in four different trials that are currently set to occur between January and May.
Kicking off with E Jean Carroll’s damages trial on the same day as the Iowa Caucus to his federal classified documents trial one month before the GOP convention, Mr Trump’s jam-packed schedule seemingly leaves little time for him to socialise outside of a courtroom.
How Mr Trump will manage his campaign while convincing voters he’s innocent of it all – including alleged efforts to overturn previous elections in his favour – remains to be seen.
Continue reading…
Ariana Baio14 January 2024 10:00
1705219200Iowa caucuses: When will we know the results?All eyes will be on the race to secure the Republican nomination, with front-runner Donald Trump expected to cement his commanding lead over his rivals in the polls as the likes of Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy seek to make an impact and prove they have the support to mount a meaningful challenge.
For Democrats, the matter is much more straightforward: they will simply gather in gyms, schools, libraries and churches across the state’s 1,657 precincts (spread over 99 counties) to elect delegates to send to the county conventions in March, the next step to selecting the delegates that will attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Despite sub-zero temperatures and snow being forecast, the state Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann has insisted: “We have done everything humanly possible to ensure that this caucus comes off without a hitch.”
So when can we expect to find out the results?
Joe Sommerlad14 January 2024 08:00
1705212000Iowa GOP voters less interested in talking about abortion, knowing it could lose them electionsA man in Iowa stood up at a recent town hall and told Ron DeSantis he had an “easy” question: how would the Florida governor address abortion when it’s sure to be a big issue in the coming 2024 presidential election?
DeSantis said he’d talk about it “the same way I did in Florida. I just articulated kind of, you know, where we were, what we do.”
He continued for nearly four minutes without using the word “abortion.” He instead criticized his rival Donald Trump for failing to appear in debates and Nikki Haley for her campaign trail gaffes.
Abortion has largely been absent as an issue in the lead-up to this year’s Iowa Republican caucuses, a remarkable change in a state that has long backed religious conservatives vowing to restrict the procedure. Part of the change is because Republicans achieved a generational goal when the Supreme Court overturned a federally guaranteed right to abortion. But it also underscores a pervasive fear among Republican candidates and voters alike that vocalizing their desire to further restrict abortion rights in 2024 has become politically dangerous.
Democrats outperformed expectations in the 2022 midterms and several state races last year campaigning on the issue. And President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign plans to make abortion rights central to its strategy this year.
1705204800Trump town hall almost doubles ratings of GOP debateWednesday night’s duelling displays proved favourable for Mr Trump, whose Fox News town hall was watched by 4.3 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research.
By contrast, Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis appeared on CNN at the same time but were only viewed by 2.6 million people.
The competing events were broadcast just days before the Iowa caucuses — the first-in-the-nation chance for voters to officially throw their support behind the candidates of their choice.
Kelly Rissman reports:
Oliver O’Connell14 January 2024 04:00
1705197600Trump to remain on Oregon presidential primary ballot… for nowFollowing in the footsteps of the Michigan Supreme Court, justices on the Oregon Supreme Court said they would not take up the petition but left the door open to revisit the issue after the US Supreme Court rules on the matter.
Ariana Baio has the details:
Oliver O’Connell14 January 2024 02:00
