Republican rivals make final push in Iowa ahead of first test against
Trump
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[January 13, 2024]
By Tim Reid and Nathan Layne
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republicans vying to beat a dominant Donald
Trump to be the party's nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election
will crisscross a frozen Iowa this weekend in the final campaigning
ahead of the first nominating contest on Monday.
His rivals will be trying to prevent a rematch between Trump and
President Joe Biden for the leadership of the world's most powerful
country in what looks set to be a close and deeply acrimonious November
vote that has raised questions about the depth of support for Europe and
even basic democratic values.
Trump, the only current or ex-U.S. president to be charged with criminal
activity, holds a commanding lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and
former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who want to place a strong
second in Iowa and show they can deliver an upset going forward.
Only four Republicans are left challenging Trump in an unusually
truncated field at this initial stage of the nominating process, a sign
of the deep support he holds among so many of the party faithful and its
upper echelons.
A nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday showed Trump with
49% support. Haley, aiming to be the first woman president, was at 12%,
while DeSantis garnered 11%. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson polled at 4% and 0%, respectively.
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An Iowa poll released on Thursday showed Trump 41 percentage points
ahead of DeSantis and Haley, in second place at 14% each.
But the weather could throw a wrench into weekend campaign plans.
Blizzard conditions could see temperatures plunge to a low of minus 20
degrees Fahrenheit (minus 29 degrees Celsius) on Monday, cancel more
events and test the resolve of even the hardiest Midwesterners to go out
to vote.
Iowans take pride in their first-in-nation status for the nominating
contests and are used to dealing with snow, dressing in layers and
driving trucks with four-wheel drives, but Monday is set to be the
coldest day of caucuses ever, testing that mettle.
Joy Burk, 43, a DeSantis supporter in Ankeny, said the weather might
impact turnout but that if the snow has cleared by Monday, "it's just
the cold weather, which we are used to."
Trump canceled two rallies in Iowa on Saturday, citing the weather.
"I'll get there sometime around Saturday night or something, one way or
the other I'm getting there. You have the worst weather I guess in
recorded history, but maybe that's good because our people are more
committed than anyone else," Trump said in a video posted to social
media.
Haley and DeSantis will meet voters in smaller settings on Saturday,
including a brewery and a farm.
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![](../images/011324PIX/news_z13.jpg)
Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy
walks through the snow to an event ahead of the Iowa caucus vote in
Hubbard, Iowa, U.S. January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
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On Sunday, Trump plans a rally in Indianola, a suburb of Des Moines,
but canceled one in the city of Cherokee. Haley and DeSantis will
begin the day in Dubuque in the east of the state near the
Mississippi River, followed by another DeSantis event around 300
miles (500 km) away in Sioux City.
From 7 p.m. CST on Monday (0100 GMT on Tuesday), Iowans will gather
for two hours in school gymnasiums, bars and other locations to
debate the candidates before ranking them in order of preference.
Results are typically announced within a few hours.
TRUMP FOCUSED ON RETRIBUTION
Trump continues to claim falsely that his 2020 loss to Biden was due
to widespread fraud and has vowed if elected again to punish his
political enemies, introduce new tariffs and end the Ukraine-Russia
war in 24 hours, without saying how, according to his own comments,
those of his campaign and media reports.
He has drawn criticism for increasingly authoritarian language that
has echoed of Nazi rhetoric, including comments that undocumented
immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country."
Trump has used charges of unlawfully trying to overturn his 2020
election loss to fundraise and boost his support among Republican
voters and elsewhere and claim a "witch hunt" as he protests his
innocence.
He faces four prosecutions, setting up the unprecedented prospect of
a president being convicted or even serving from behind bars, with
the courts almost certainly weighing in at every stage.
DeSantis, who has tacked to the right of Trump especially on issues
such as education and LGBTQ rights, has staked a huge amount on a
strong performance in Iowa with associates of his saying he needs to
finish at least second.
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While DeSantis has been to all 99 counties, fiercely courted
socially conservative voters in a state that is nearly 90% white and
secured the backing of its governor, Trump has showed up a fraction
of the time but has held larger rallies his rivals have struggled to
match.
Haley, who is the strongest challenge to Trump on the next stop, the
Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, has spoken of how voters there could
"correct" Iowa's decision as she hopes to defeat the favorite.
(Reporting by Tim Reid Nathan Layne; Writing by Costas Pitas;
Editing by Alistair Bell and William Mallard)
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