Iowa Republican Caucus LIVE: Trump heads for hwin in first GOP contest

Haley marketing campaign supervisor Betsy Ankney put out a post-Iowa marketing campaign memo obtained by DailyMail.com that lays out her technique heading into New Hampshire, which she calls ‘much less Trump-friendly territory.’

‘And the sector of candidates is successfully down to 2, with solely Trump and Nikki Haley having substantial assist in each New Hampshire and South Carolina,’ Ankney continues.

Haley talked about the brand new ‘two-person’ race in her third place speech to supporters following the closeout of the caucuses.

She alluded to polls exhibiting Ron DeSantis properly behind herself and Trump in New Hampshire and in addition South Carolina.

‘As the race strikes to New Hampshire, the selection earlier than voters is obvious: the rematch nobody needs between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, or a brand new technology of conservative management with Nikki Haley,’ the memo continues.

According to the Iowa GOP, Nikki Haley captured a win in only one county by a slim margin of 1 vote.

The interactive map posted by Iowa’s Republican Party exhibits Haley carried Johnson County with 1271 votes to Donald Trump’s 1270.

That county was the one one within the state that didn’t go to Trump. He would have achieved a 99 county sweep however for the only vote.

Ron DeSantis traveled to all 99 counties, however didn’t seize a win in any.

Nikki Haley thanked her household, together with her husband Michael who’s on deployment in Africa, and God for assist as she closed out in a 3rd place end after the Iowa caucuses.

‘When you undergo one thing like this, you’ll be able to’t do it except you have got a religion. And God is so good,’ she advised supporters.

Haley congratulated Trump on his win and went on to explain the 11 ‘superb’ months she had in Iowa over the course of her marketing campaign.

‘If you take a look at how we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and past…I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican major a two-person race,’ she mentioned to loud cheers.

Haley is the favourite narrowly behind Trump in New Hampshire, which holds its major per week from Tuesday on January 23.

‘Tonight I will likely be again within the nice state of New Hampshire. And the query earlier than Americans is now very clear: Do you need extra of the identical? Or would you like a brand new once more technology of conservative management?’ she questioned.

Her adoring followers began a chant of ‘Nikki, Nikki, Nikki’ following heavy applause.

‘This marketing campaign is the final finest hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare,’ the 2024 hopeful continued.

‘Trump and Biden each lack a imaginative and prescient for our nation’s future,’ Haley said.

‘Because each are consumed by the previous. By investigations. By vendettas. By grievances. America deserves higher.’

‘We deserve a brand new course underneath new conservative management,’ she continued.

‘We deserve a president who will concentrate on the wants of our folks, not on themselves. A president who will rebuild our financial system, shut our border, and stand as much as our enemies. Most importantly we deserve a president who will cease ourself loathing and did I streugs and division and worry, and make America robust and proud.’

Ron DeSantis beat Nikki Haley to seize a second place end within the 2024 Iowa caucuses after Donald Trump handedly defeated the remainder of the GOP pool.

The No. 2 end palms a a lot wanted momentum enhance to the Florida governor heading into New Hampshire as he tries to catch as much as Donald Trump’s dominance within the polls.

He carried 21.3 p.c of the vote in comparison with Trump’s 51 p.c and Nikki Haley’s 19.1 p.c.

DeSantis addressed supporters for about 3.5 minutes following his second place end.

‘They threw the whole lot however the kitchen sink at us. They spent nearly $50 million attacking us. No one has confronted that a lot simply by way of Iowa,’ he mentioned throughout his speech.

‘They, the media was in opposition to us. They had been writing our obituary months in the past. They even referred to as the election earlier than folks even received an opportunity to vote,’ he added.

‘But they had been simply so excited about the truth that they had been predicting that we would not be in a position to get our ticket punched right here out of Washington. I can inform you due to your assist regardless of all of that that they threw at us, everybody in opposition to us we have now our ticket punched out of Iowa,’ he mentioned to cheers and applause. 

Donald Trump was projected to win in Iowa lower than a half-hour after caucuses began, gaining the ire of the DeSantis and Haley camps as some counties hadn’t voted but.

Republican 2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race following the ends in Iowa.

He was capturing solely 7 p.c of the vote with about 90 p.c of counties reporting.

Earlier Monday, he predicted he would win in Iowa defying weeks of polls.

‘We have a really cheap shot at successful. I feel we will shock, I’m actually [going to] shock the expectations,’ he mentioned throughout a NewsNation interview Monday forward of the caucuses.

But he advised supporters ‘we didn’t obtain the shock that we wished to ship tonight.’

‘As of this second we’re going to droop this presidential marketing campaign. This goes to need to be, there isn’t a path for me to be the subsequent president,’ he mentioned Monday night.

‘I’m very apprehensive for our nation. I feel we’re skating on skinny ice as a nation. We have completed the whole lot in our half to make and completed each one of us on this room have completed our half to avoid wasting this nation,’ he continued.

‘I’m so pleased with you all lifting us up. We’re a marketing campaign based on the fact. That’s why we made the choice right this moment.’

‘I’m additionally making the choice that needs to be an America First candidate in that White House,’ Ramaswamy mentioned earlier than endorsing Donald Trump.

‘Earlier tonight I referred to as Donald Trump to inform him, congratulate him on his victory. Now going ahead he may have my full endorsement for the presidency.’

Donald Trump addressed the passing of his mother-in-law throughout victory remarks in Iowa Monday night.

He mentioned his spouse former First Lady Melania Trump’s late mom is ‘wanting down’ from heaven and could be ‘proud’ after historic Iowa caucus win.

The former president began off by saying ‘most significantly I need to thank my unimaginable spouse, the first woman.’

‘I’ll say former, and possibly future,’ he added to applause from the group crammed of his supporters.

‘But extra necessary than Melania, I need to thank her unimaginable, lovely mom who handed away just a few days in the past, and he or she’s means up there wanting down and he or she is so pleased with us.’

‘I simply wished to say to Amalija, you’re one of the vital particular folks I’ve ever recognized, and that was a tricky time frame for the household. She’s superb. She was superb. I simply wished to thank her for what she’s completed for our household,’ Trump added.

He additionally talked about her husband Viktor Knavs who he mentioned is ‘house proper now and really lonely,’ however he could be ‘okauy.’

‘Great folks, nice mother and father to all of us, actually. Great mother and father, but additionally to Barron. Boy, did she deal with Barron. That’s how he received so tall, he solely ate her meals,’ he added to laughter within the crowd.

‘And I need to thank my household typically. They have labored so exhausting they usually have taken a lot abuse for being good folks,’ he added, thanking his sons Eric and Don Jr.

Trump took the stage at his marketing campaign HQ in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday to have fun his win within the caucuses.

He began off by congratulating his major opponents – Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

‘I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well,’ said Trump.

‘We don’t even know what the result of second place is.’

‘I additionally need to congratulate Vivek as a result of he did one hell of a job. He got here from zero … that’s an incredible job. Very sensible folks, very succesful folks,’ Trump added.

He additionally unexpectedly referred to as for unity, saying it is ‘time for nation to come back collectively.’

A professional-DeSantis tremendous PAC Never Back Down spokesperon mentioned that Florida First Lady was interrupted mid-speech when Trump’s win was referred to as shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET.

Casey was talking at a cacucus as push notifications hit the telephones of the group assembled, the spokesperson advised The Hill.

DeSantis marketing campaign workers blamed the media for therefore rapidly declaring a win in favor of Trump.

Donald Trump’s supporters are gatherine in Des Moines, Iowa, forward of his anitipcated victory speech.

‘This is the day that we’ve been ready for for 3 years now,’ mentioned Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene who was collaborating in get out the vote efforts over the weekend.

According to the Fox News resolution desk, Ron DeSantis is barely edging out Nikki Haley for a second place end in Iowa.

The projection comes as practically 80 p.c of the vote has been counted.

The outcomes as of 10:45 p.m. ET put Trump at 51 p.c, DeSantis at 21.2 p.c and Haley at 19.1 p.c.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem – who’s rumored to be amongst vice presidential picks for Trump – says time should not be spent on determining if Haley or DeSantis captured a second place end.

‘It’s time to unite the Republican occasion. We must put all our time, treasure, and skills into defeating Joe Biden and taking our nation again – NOT determining who’s in 2nd place,’ she wrote on X.

Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are relying on each vote within the Iowa caucuses to allow them to understand how they boded within the first major contest.

Several shops, together with the Associated Press, projected Iowa as clinched for Donald Trump lower than a half-hour after caucuses began.

Former United Nations Ambassador Haley and Florida Gov. DeSantis are nonetheless locked in a bitter battle that many have dubbed for months the race for second place. And their supporters are livid that the race was referred to as with out tallies from a whole bunch of precinct areas but accounted for.

The outcomes as of 10 pm. ET has Trump at 53 p.c, DeSantis at 20.3 p.c and Haley at 18.9 p.c.

The outcomes constitue 34 p.c of the votes counted.

A powerful No. 2 end for both Haley or DeSantis may decide the trajectory of their future campaigns.

Next up is New Hampshire, which has its major on January 23.

GOP Conference Chairwoman says Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy ought to drop out of the race and hand the nomination to Trump.

‘As I’ve mentioned for over a yr, President Trump will likely be our Republican nominee and can defeat Joe Biden in November.’

‘I’m calling on each different candidate – all of whom don’t have any probability to win – to drop out so we are able to unify and instantly rally behind President Trump in order that we are able to focus 100% of our assets on defeating Joe Biden to Save America,’ she mentioned in a press release.

The Biden campaign got right to work fundraising off Trump’s projected win in Iowa.

‘The Iowa results are in, and it’s clear: Donald Trump is the official frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination,’ the blast email by the Biden re-elect team reads.

‘If Donald Trump is our opponent, we can expect vile attacks, endless lies, and massive spending.’

The Biden campaign announced earlier today that it raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year.

The amount was more money than the $68 million that former President Barack Obama raised during the same period of his reelection but it was dwarfed by the $154 million that former President Donald Trump raised for his.

Trump’s win in Iowa is the first concrete win for the former president in the 2024 primaries, setting up a potential rematch with Biden in November.

Donald Trump Jr. trolled Nikki Haley in his speech vouching for his father Monday night when they both showed up to the same suburban Des Moines caucus site.

After Haley gave her typical pitch – trying to speak as the mic cut in and out – Trump Jr. stood in the well of the Franklin Junior High auditorium and noted that during his father’s term in office there was ‘world peace.’

‘Nikki Haley would love to be in every war that the world has to offer,’ Trump Jr. said.

He also said the same donors who liked Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton were now tossing dollars at Haley, who served as his father’s U.N. ambassador.

He said Haley was ‘Hillary Clinton dressing as a conservative for Halloween.’

The younger Trump also claimed that Trump’s wall wasn’t completed thanks to ‘RINO Republicans, like the people supporting Nikki Haley – Paul Ryan and others.’

He then claimed that Haley had been backstage ‘hiding from the people’ before her caucus speech, while Trump Jr. was gaggling with reporters.

At that point one of the caucus attendees yelled at the first son that she had a question – but he didn’t stop his speech.

‘We’re here to answer to you. Not go behind a stage, tell you what you want to hear and then do what D.C. wants,’ Trump Jr. said.

Donald Trump is reportedly working behind the scenes with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina to try and cinch his support ahead of the state’s primary on February 24.

Trump’s quick victory in Iowa on Monday backed up polls that had him performing well above his closest rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.

Scott dropped out of the 2024 presidential race last year and has yet to throw his support behind a candidate.

He is good friends with his fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley.

House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement following Trump’s swiftly projected win in Iowa.

‘Congratulations to President Donald Trump for a resounding victory in Iowa!’ Johnson said in a statement obtained by DailyMail.com.

‘Today, Republican voters turned out amid harsh conditions and showed their resolve to bring an end to the failed economic and open border policies of President Biden. We appreciate every candidate, volunteer, and voter who braved the elements and participated in the great caucus tradition.’

He went on to call the vote an ‘endorsement of President Trump’s extraordinary record’ and his ‘ongoing vision to fix our economy, secure our border, and defend the freedoms and values that make America great.’

Johnson projected that Trump will help propel GOP majorities in the House and the Senate in an ‘ultimate victory’ in November.

Donald Trump feels ‘great’ about his projected win in Iowa, calling it a ‘great honor.’

‘I feel great,” Donald Trump told Fox News’ Brooke Singman immediately following his projected win.

‘I am greatly honored by such an early call. It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won—against very credible competition—great competition, actually…it is a tremendous thing and a tremendous feeling.”

The campaign of Ron DeSantis slammed the early call in the Iowa caucuses on Monday evening, when a string of media organizations announced a win for Donald Trump within minutes of voting starting.

It meant the forecast was broadcast on CNN and elsewhere before some precincts had even begun casting votes.

‘Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote,’ said DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo.

‘The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.’

Following Donald Trump’s quickly projected victory in Iowa the race for second is heated between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.

Whichever candidate can capture a second place finish will help their momentum heading into the next voting state – New Hampshire.

‘Running through the tape. We’re not taking any voter for granted!’ Haley wrote on X after Trump was projected the winner just 33 minutes into voting.

Meanwhile, DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo called the early decision in Trump’s favor ‘outrageous’ and accused the media of ‘election interference.’

‘Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote,’ Romeo wrote on X.

‘The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.’

‘I am calling on every other candidate – all of whom have no chance to win – to drop out so we can unify and immediately rally behind President Trump so that we can focus 100% of our resources on defeating Joe Biden to Save America,’ said GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik.

‘Cue the journo and liberal meltdown,’ added GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, who was first in the House leadership to endorse Trump.

‘The freezing cold wasn’t going to hold back Iowans from doing their duty, and voting to put President Trump back into the White House,’ said former Rep. Lee Zeldin.

Former President Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses in a historic victory over GOP rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The result was expected as Trump has been the dominant leader in Hawkeye State polls for months.

Fox News and CNN both called the race after just 33 minutes and just 319 votes counted.

Donald Trump stopped by a caucus site in Clive, Iowa, at the start of voting Monday.

‘People don’t realize, it’s not only farmers’ he told a crowd of adoring supporters at the start of the caucuses.

He went on to contrast his record with President Joe Biden – who he says is ruining the country.

‘It’s the most important election in the history of our country. Take a look at what has happened to our country in the last a short period of time,’ he said.

‘I think especially with all the bad things in Afghanistan, the worst retreat. That was a surrender. That was a surrender,’ Trump continued, lamenting the 13 service members who were killed at Abbey Gate in 2021. 

He went on to describe the many American hostages left behind in Afghanistan.

‘We left plenty of Americans over there now maybe the hostages but they are still there. The worst and most embarrassing day in the history of our country,’ he exclaimed.

‘We are not going to have any more days like that. It’s not going to happen.’

‘I would appreciate your vote. I think I deserve it. We were a great country three years ago and today people are laughing at us! I just want to thank everybody. Get out and vote!’

According to an early entrance poll by CNN, 55 percent of White evangelical Christians say they are backing Donald Trump.

Iowa‘s evangelical Christians had their doubts about twice-divorced, Democrat donor and casino magnate Donald Trump in 2016.

But not any more.

The high enthusiasm for the 2024 GOP caucuses in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has reportedly led to a shortage of ballots.

Cacucus organizers are now ripping up paper from legal pads to use as makeshift ballots at Kirn Middle School.

More chairs are also being set up to help with the influx of inspired Republican voters, according to CNN.

Another site at Beaver Creek Elementary has reportedly run out of voter registration forms.

During the caucuses, a Democrat or Independent can switch their party registration to Republican and vote.

The precinct is delaying the start of voting in order to get more forms, according to CBS.

All eyes of the U.S. are on Iowa as thousands brave sub-zero temperatures to vote in the first contest of the Republican White House race.

Voters have ignored frostbite warnings and wind chills of minus 30 degrees to stream into 1,657 precincts across the state to pick who they want on the GOP ticket in the 2024 general election.

Donald Trump has his sights on a blowout victory, leading by 28 points in the most recent poll in the Hawkeye State.

The former president, 77, said he is expecting a ‘tremendous night’ and praised the ‘spirit’ of his supporters who have ventured out in life-threatening conditions.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are set to be locked into a battle for second place in the coldest caucus in history.

Former President Donald Trump won’t be in Iowa for long.

After the caucuses, he will head to New York City Tuesday for the opening day of a jury trial that will determine how much he must pay in damages to E. Jean Carroll.

He will then fly up to New Hampshire in the evening to kick off his push in the next early voting state ahead of the primary on January 23.

And he could be back in court again before the end of the week for non-mandatory appearances.

The 77-year-old former president’s plan to spend the run-up to the crucial first few votes of the 2024 Republican primaries facing judges could be intentional.

His campaign has embraced the courtroom drama because it often leads to a spike in the polls.

The passion of his supporters shows that indictments and never-ending legal battles have had, if anything, a positive impact.

The life-threatening, sub-zero temperatures mean most are wearing multiple layers and will be bundling up to vote in the crucial Republican caucus on Monday.

For Rocky, it will mean putting many clothes on.

The 69-year-old retiree from Davenport is a practicing nudist who fully intends to participate in his first caucus to support Donald Trump. He will brave the snow left by blizzards over the weekend to join the democratic tradition that dates back to 1972.

It’s personal for Rocky. He believes Trump is a ‘survivor’, something he knows all too well having suffered a severe stroke, thirteen stints and open-heart surgery.

President Joe Biden told the Rev. Al Sharpton that he’s running for a second term because Donald Trump is the ‘most anti-democratic’ president in ‘American history.’

He also ripped Trump, who is leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, for wanting ‘revenge on people.’

‘The things that Trump is saying. Trump is saying things that are just off the wall,’ Biden said in an interviewed that aired on Sharpton’s radio show on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Biden’s interview aired the same day Iowa voters were going to caucus sites in the first contest in the GOP presidential nomination contest. Trump had a nearly 30 point lead over his rivals in the last poll of the state before the caucuses began.

People are arriving at a caucus site at Fellows Elementary School in Ames, Iowa

Voters are streaming into precincts across the state.

Here, Toni Justice of Glenwood, signs in to caucus at the Mineola Community Center in Mineola, Iowa,

At another caucus site in Ames, Iowa, people waited in line.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to hit two caucus sites in Dubuque, Iowa, this evening during voting, which is set to kick off at 8 p.m. ET.

Dubuque is near the Mississippi River in the northeast part of the state.

The location is notable since Donald Trump was the only Republican to win the county since 1956.

All eyes will be on the outcome of the Dubuque County this evening as a sign of momentum.

After months of campaigning it is crunch time.

The doors to over 1,600 caucus sites across Iowa are opening and voters are arriving.

Here, caucus worker Michelle White checks in voters at a site in the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa.

Donald Trump was tucked away inside his Des Moines for the first half of Monday, dispatching an army of MAGA supporters from Congress to help rally Iowans to the caucuses.

Temperatures were hovering around 2 degrees when Trump left his Des Moines hotel, but with a warning in effect, the wind chill made it feel like -14. Trump wore his regular wool overcoat, although longtime aide Dan Scavino posted a modified image of the former president bundled up in a parka urging Iowans to get to the caucuses.

Trump had his political surrogates around the state, after a blizzard sidelined his Saturday rally.

Several of them posed for quick videos in front of Iowa‘s snowy terrain, including Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Johnson, who cleared some snow that was blocking a Trump road sign.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is also here campaigning for Trump, posted images along with his wife, Ginger, in Fort Dodge.

Camron Barth, a 37-year-old 911 dispatcher, told DailyMail.com at a DeSantis event in Grimes, Iowa, he is on a ‘political vacation’ and flew to Iowa after a stop in New Hampshire.

The Seattle, Washington, native was at a DeSantis event in Grimes when Republican Rep. Chip Roy started dissing Haley.

Barth interrupted by shouting: ‘We like her too’.

The Seattle, Washington, native is sure of one thing: Haley and DeSantis are a step up from Trump, and he would be ‘delighted’ if anyone else were the GOP nominee.

‘He is very petulant and bad for the Republican Party,’ he said of the frontrunner.

Haley is his favorite, and he believes she is a candidate who millennials will flock to.

Candidates are putting the finishing touches on their caucus night events with 30 minutes until precincts open across Iowa.

Voting will start at 7pm Central Time (8pm ET) in the first official contest of the the Republican primary.

Results from smaller sites could be available in as little as 30 minutes. If Trump is ahead by a wide margin, we could know the winner in a couple of hours.

Gary Leffler owns the ‘Patriotic Tractor,’ and is a Trump precinct captain based in West Des Moines. 

His job is encouraging others to get to their caucus site on Monday night and vote for the former president.

He will be in charge of precinct 118 and speak on behalf of Trump before the votes are cast.

The 62-year-old previously ran for Congress in Iowa‘s 3rd Congressional district but lost in the primary.

He told DailyMail.com last week the Trump campaign has been far more organized in Iowa this year than in 2016 and 2020.

This effort has given Leffler the confidence to bet on Trump winning by up to 30 points.

‘I’ve got a couple of steak dinners on that one. I think I’m going to win,’ Leffler told DailyMail.com at an event for Donald Trump Jr. in Urbandale.

‘Trump’s gonna end up with between 48 and 50 [percent of the votes] and DeSantis is gonna come in right around 20,’ he predicts.

‘Nikki Haley’s gonna come in right around 20 and my surprise guy is going to be Vivek at 15,’ he added.

Concerns are high that Trump’s massive lead in the polls and the life-threatening cold will make supporters want to stay home.

DailyMail.com reporter Katelyn Caralle caught the jab at Ron DeSantis by the former president’s son at a Iowa pub.

‘Who thinks it’s acceptable for men to be wearing high heels while running for the Republican nomination? No one cares if he’s short! You’re so insecure about it that you have to overcompensate? That’s the stuff that gets us into wars.’

Longshot 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he has a ‘shot’ at winning in Iowa tonight.

The Republican hopeful is currently polling at 8 percent, according to a recent survery.

The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows that it is Nikki Haley who continues her rise, cutting slightly into Trump’s lead and giving her a clear second place with 20 percent.

And Gov. Ron DeSantis received a solid 16 percent, putting Vivek solidly in fourth place.

Trump’s 48 percent lead puts him as the expected winner of the evening.

Nevertheless, Vivek is confident that he could pull out a win in the midwest state.

‘We have a very reasonable shot at winning. I think we’re going to shock, I’m certainly [going to] shock the expectations,’ he said during a NewsNation interview Monday.

Donald Trump writes on Truth Social: ‘Nikki Haley can never win in the General Election because she doesn’t have MAGA, and never will!

‘Ron DeSanctimonious, at least, is MAGA-Lite. Remember, I think MAGA is almost ALL of the Republican Party. The days of the RINOS and non-AMERICA FIRST candidates are OVER!’

Nikki Haley’s husband Michael is deployed in Africa.

He was able to get an email to her telling her he would be out of communication.

Haley says he is like her ‘right arm’ and she hopes to hear from him today.

‘I am so proud of him. He is the middle of a lot of stuff. As pou know the world is on fire.

‘So he hasn’t had access to communicattion for a few days. We pray that he comes home safely. We are going to push through and continue on like every military family does.’

Donald Trump said he was predicting a ‘trememdous night’ as left his Des Moines hotel on Monday just hours before the Iowa caucus.

‘We’ve won it twice as you know,’ the former president, 77, told reporters.

‘I think we’re going to have tremendous night tonight. The people are fantastic. I’ve never seen spirit like they have.’

Trump lost the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz in 2016 and they were a formality in 2020 as he was in the White House.

Supporters have said his campaign presence has been greater than eight years ago, and strategists believe this could give him more of an edge over his rivals.

Donald Trump’s former staffer is vowing to work against his old boss if he captures the GOP nomination.

Scaramucci is most famous for serving as the White House Director of Communications for just 11 days under former president Donald Trump.

‘If Donald Trump is the nominee, I’m a patriot first, Jim, I’m a partisan second,’ Scaramucci said to CNN’s Jim Acosta.

‘This is a battle for the American democracy. This is a battle for freedom. When someone’s telling you they’re going to flex and be a dictator on day one and go after their adversaries, this is against the 200-plus-year experiment of America.’

He went on to say that it might be time to ‘help’ Democrats if Trump is the eventual GOP nominee.

Campaign operatives for Vivek Ramaswamy are taking to social media to lament his complete ‘erasure’ off election results tracking sites, including the New York Times.

Communications Director Tricia McLaughlin took to X to accuse the Times of trying to ’tilt the scales’ by keeping Vivek off their election landing page.

In addition, Vivek slammed Fox News for keeping him off a graphic designed to tally the caucus results in a county-by-county breakdown.

The map only included Trump, Haley and DeSantis.

‘I was in the Fox News studio in Des Moines this morning and noticed something interesting: they forgot one candidate tonight. I’ll trust them to fix it.’

Nikki Haley made a pitstop in a bakery during the frigid conditions with just hours until the Iowa caucuses began.

With a coffee in hand she spoke to workers at The Bread Board in Pella to try and snap up final votes.

She is second in the polls and expected to battle with Ron DeSantis, behind Donald Trump.

A reminder of how the candidates stand in the polls in Iowa.

The widely watched final statewide poll from the Des Moines Register newspaper came out on Saturday night.

Figures for TV advertising show it is Nikki Haley who has spent most down the stretch.

Around $4.6 million has gone on p[ro-Haley adverts.

That’s well over doble what has been spent on DeSantis and Trump ads.

The Florida governor posted a caucus day photograph with some of his volunteers

Lake has been mentioned as a possible Trump running mate.

Donald Trump ally Kari Lake has urged Iowans to remember the former president’s booking photo from his arrest in Georgia when they caucus on Monday night.

The Arizona Republican, who has just launched a Senate run, has been in the Hawkeye State campaigning and drumming up support.

She wrote on Twitter: ‘When you go to Caucus later today, REMEMBER this photo. Remember everything this man endures for US. Remember everything he’s done to Save America before & just IMAGINE all he will do to Save Her again.’

DailyMail.com political reporter Katelyn Caralle is in Iowa waiting for Donald Trump. Jr and fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle to speak to supporters, just hours before the caucus begins.

Shelley and Abe and Kat Cunningham showed up donning the white ‘Trump Caucus Captain’ hats the MAGA faithful are looking to get their hands on.

They enjoyed a drink in Whisky River, a bar in Ankney decorated with moose heads and bras hanging from the ceiling.

Caucus captains have been picked to drum up support for their candidates during the crucial voting process this evening.

Shelley and Abe are captains for Trump in Pleasant Hill.

Kat is in Johntson and said Trump’s campaign has been ‘more organized and enthusiatic than ever’ this year.

The former president is expected to deliver remarks to supporters after a winner is declared in the Iowa caucuses.

The voting will begin at 7pm Central Time (8pm Eastern Time) in the first official event of the GOP race for the White House.

Donald Trump enters as the favorite with a resounding 28-point lead in the latest poll.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will fly straight to South Carolina after Monday’s Iowa caucuses instead of heading to New Hampshire, which holds the next primary, in an effort to vanquish rival Nikki Haley in her home state.

It’s a brazen move for the 2024 hopeful who has found himself in a tight battle with Haley for second place in the Republican primary field, which former President Donald Trump still dominates.

DeSantis will fly to Greenville, South Carolina, a GOP-heavy part of the state, on Tuesday.

He will then head to New Hampshire Tuesday evening for an event with Never Back Down.

The candidate clarified during an appearance on Fox News Friday night that he would still be focusing on New Hampshire.

‘Some media was saying we weren’t doing New Hampshire at all,’ the Florida governor told Fox’s Laura Ingraham.

‘That’s not true. We’re going to do an event in Greenville on Tuesday morning, and then we’re going to fly to New Hampshire and do a town hall on CNN later that night.’

Senate hopeful Kari Lake is launching her first broadcast and cable ads in Arizona as she is in Iowa working to get out the vote for Donald Trump tonight during the caucuses.

‘With President Trump, we had a secure border, but Joe Biden and his enablers Kyrsten Sinema and Ruben Gallego destroyed that security,’ the script for the ad goes.

‘When we take back the U.S. Senate, we can fix it,’ the ad continues.

Lake has been on the ground in Iowa to campaign for the former president.

‘Everybody that’s ever worked for me or worked with me, no one ever questions my toughness,” Haley, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN on Sunday.

‘He’s saying this because now he knows he’s in trouble. Now he knows this is becoming a two-person race. So I know that he knows the truth. It doesn’t bother me at all,’ she continued in an interview with Dana Bash.

She went on to call Trump’s comments ‘comical because when I was at the UN, he always used to tell people, ‘don’t mess with her. She’s tough.”

Trump told a crowd of adoring supporters Sunday that Nikki is ‘not right to be president.’

‘And honestly she’s not tough enough. She’s not tough enough,’ he went on.

‘These are tough people we’re dealing with,” Trump said about foes of the U.S.

On January 10, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley took part in a head-to-head debate in Iowa.

Exclusive polling for DailyMail.com showed viewers reactions to what they saw.

This is what they thought of Ron DeSantis:

And this is what they thought of Nikki Haley:

President Joe Biden raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year for his re-election campaign as he prepares to make his case to voters for a second term.

The amount was more money than the $68 million that former President Barack Obama raised during the same period of his reelection but it was dwarfed by the $154 million that former President Donald Trump raised for his.

Biden’s war chest was boosted by a series of star-studded fundraising events, including one in Boston that featured singer-songwriter James Taylor, and three days in California for gatherings with Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Shonda Rhimes, Rob Reiner, and David Geffen.

The Biden campaign pointed out that Trump and his top primary competitors have already spent $100 million on advertising in Iowa alone.

The first votes for the Republican nominee will be cast on Monday when Iowa citizens attend the state’s caucuses.

An average of polls showsTrump far ahead.

Iowa Republican strategist David Kochel has advised CNN mentioned the ‘painful’ and ‘harmful’ situations may preserve voters at house – and produce a ‘surpirse’ outcome within the caucus.

Last week he estimated that 150,000 voters would present up, however since then the life-threatening chilly has upended his predictions.

He now thinks turnout will likely be decrease, and will spark an sudden end.

‘It’s not simply chilly. This is painful, that is harmful.’

‘In rural counties the place, you understand, they do not get plowed as rapidly, you understand you go within the ditch — your automotive’s not popping out; your battery is likely to be lifeless.’

Candidates have been telling Iowans to get to their precincts and have been doing the whole lot they’ll to verify it’s secure to journey.

Turnout will likely be key to victory.

As they forge throughout the frozen expanses of Iowa a few of them have icicles slowly sprouting on their eyebrows and beards, others are wrapped in blankets on high of their winter coats.

These are the Hawkeye state’s die-hard caucus-goers, who refuse to be cowed by the worst nature can throw at them.

It is presently so chilly in Iowa that espresso freezes immediately if you spill it. Back-to-back blizzards have turned roads into ice rinks. Hundreds of flights out and in have been canceled.

Iowans are supremely keen about their position as the primary state to have a say within the presidential nomination contest. Their job is to look at and winnow the sector; they’re decided to do their obligation.

Despite the weather some have repeatedly pushed a whole bunch of miles to see Republican candidates communicate, their knuckles turning white from gripping the steering wheel to cease sliding within the snow.

DailyMail.com has spent per week traversing Iowa and spoken to those that will in the end resolve who wins the caucuses.

Nikki Haley advised supporters in Iowa this morning: ‘Today is the day we make historical past as a result of we tuned out the noise of the media, the noise of the politicians.

‘And we raised the voices of the American individuals who say “We want a better day.”

‘We are going to make it occur.’

The Republican from Georgia stood subsequent to a snow financial institution practically taller than her within the publish on X.

She arrived Sunday with a view to assist get out the vote in assist of Donald Trump.

‘When [Trump] was president, I supported his insurance policies,’ DeSantis advised CNN on Monday forward of the caucuses.

‘He was underneath assault from the left and the media. I used to be joyful to try this, as a result of he was our probability to get issues completed in a constructive course.’

The Florida governor went on to say he is ‘joyful’ for Republicans who do properly.

‘When you are in a major state of affairs, I would like Republicans to do properly. If somebody’s endorsed me, nice. If they have not, in the event that they’re doing a superb job, I’m joyful for that.’

‘I would like our occasion to do properly. Donald Trump isn’t that means. He needs to trash Gov. [Kim] Reynolds who’s gold right here in Iowa, just because she’s on my crew.’

Mary Weston, chair of the Iowa Young Republicans, says younger voters will courageous the weather.

She says: ‘For these of you from the South that is likely to be laughing at us, it’s truly dangerously chilly. Ten minutes publicity to the pores and skin could cause frostbite.

‘But I do encourage all Iowans listening, please get out and caucus bundle up. We have ready means too lengthy for this to not present up tonight and assist our favourite candidate.’

She added: ‘As a lot as insurance policies are necessary we discuss quite a bit in our conferences and our get togethers concerning the time period electability.

‘You know, who’s that nominee that is gonna go and beat Joe Biden, who’s the nominee that is going to succeed in out to the independents and the moderates and guarantee that, you understand, they defeat Joe Biden in November?’

‘Nikki simply mentioned on Fox & Friends that she’s up within the polls, however I’m beating her by 57 factors. What’s up?’ former President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social.

The newest Iowa major ballot launched Saturday confirmed Haley transferring into second place with 20 p.c.

However, Trump maintains his iron grip on the nomination race at 48 p.c within the ballot.

Although he instructions 48 p.c assist within the ballot, he’s down three from December, whereas with Haley rose 4 factors from 16 p.c to twenty p.c.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was on 16 p.c (down three) from December.

The former president additionally referenced a latest CNN ballot from final week exhibiting that Haley is closing in on Trump’s lead in New Hampshire at 39% to 32%.

It was the second time a ballot exhibits Haley inside single digits of Trump in latest weeks.

Meanwhile, a Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA Today places Haley 19 factors behind Trump in New Hampshire – 27 p.c to 46 p.c respectively. The ballot confirmed Christie in third and DeSantis in fourth.

‘Fox & Friends is giving DeSanctimonious & Haley one final shot. They are working exhausting, even utilizing an outdated CNN Fake Poll, which exhibits I’m solely up on Birdbrain by 9 factors in New Hampshire (all different polls say 20 to 25 factors up!).’

‘Why are they utilizing CNN polls? That’s why! Nikki is utilizing an outdated ballot to point out she’s beating Crooked Joe. She’s not. Almost all new polls present she is being decimated by him.’

‘I’m beating Crooked Joe, by quite a bit, within the polls. MAGA!’

Temperatures usually are not anticipated to get above zero in Iowa till after the caucuses, the National Weather Service mentioned on Monday morning.

‘Frigid situations are anticipated to proceed, with coldest situations right this moment as highs stay beneath zero,’ the NWS posted on X.

The roads have been changed into ice rinks and a minimum of one individual has died within the state because of the brutal chilly.

The chilly is anticipated to let up by midweek, when the main target within the Republican race shifts to the New Hampshire major.

Nikki Haley was working exhausting to get essential remaining caucus votes on Monday morning as she greeted prospects on the Drake Diner in Des Moines.

The former U.N. Ambassador mentioned Americans need to discuss concerning the financial system and fixing the border and never ‘whether or not someone’s MAGA or not’.

She was referring to Donald Trump accusing rival Vivek Ramaswamy of not being a part of the MAGA motion.

This isn’t what Americans need to be speaking about. They’re desirous to know why financial system’s excessive, why inflation’s excessive, why the whole lot’s costlier, they need to know why we aren’t targeted on getting our children studying once more, they need to understand how we’re permitting the lawlessness on the border, it’s uncontrolled, not whether or not someone’s MAGA or not

She advised Fox and Friends that die-hard Iowans usually are not deterred by the brutal chilly and will likely be out supporting her.

They must layer up and produce photograph ID and keep for a bit. They are able to do it. This is their accountability to set the tone for the nation.

The former South Carolina governor is behind Trump within the polls and in a battle for second with Ron DeSantis.

She exuded confidence that she will be able to carry out properly and even beat Joe Biden within the common election, if he makes it that far.

We cannot have a President Kamala harris. Our nation will not survive it. We cannot have a nail biter of election. If you choose me right this moment, I’ll defeat Joe Biden and get our nation again on observe.

The Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines was surrounded by snow on Monday morning with simply hours till the caucues.

Forecasters predict wind chills as little as minus 35 levels because the state offers with the Arctic blast sweeping a lot of the nation.

The sub-zero temperatures are set to persist till round Tuesday at midday, after we could already know which Republican candidate was victorious.

Sub-zero temperatures aren’t stopping 2024 Republican candidates from deploying their households to marketing campaign alongside them in the midst of a winter storm the times earlier than Iowa‘s caucuses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have had their wives and younger kids be a part of them on the marketing campaign path for giant chunks of the first cycle.

But another members of the family are additionally leaping in for Hawkeye State occasions now that the first contest is nearing – this contains Donald Trump Jr. in addition to former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley‘s two grownup kids.

Ramaswamy, 38, travels along with his spouse Apoorva – a 34-year-old throat surgeon – and their two kids Karthik, three, and Arjun, one.

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, 43, has constantly been on the street together with her husband from the beginning, together with their three children: Madison, six; Mason, 5; and Mamie, three.

At least one Iowan has been discovered lifeless as a result of subzero temperatures in Iowa.

A person was discovered exterior of a comfort retailer in Urbandale, Iowa, on Saturday because the 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls made their final pitches to voters throughout the state.

Law enforcement authorities are nonetheless working to determine the person and mentioned the acute chilly probably performed part of his demise.

The bitter temperatures may influence tonight’s GOP caucuses as voters should meet in-person to elect their major candidate.

On Sunday, Donald Trump advised Iowans making ready to caucus that ‘when you vote after which move away, it is price it.’

As the state battles life-threatening chilly earlier than the essential Monday vote, the previous president advised his passionate supporters in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday that they cannot ‘sit at house’.

Wind chills are as little as minus 18 levels and residents are warned they might get frostbite exterior in the event that they expose their pores and skin for 10 minutes.

The 77-year-old imagined a pair on the point of head out within the sub-zero temperatures to point out their assist throughout his rally remarks.

‘If you are sick as a canine, you say, darling — even when you vote after which move away, it is price it,’ he mentioned to some laughter from supporters who braved the frigid climate to listen to him communicate.

‘Remember, when you’re sick, when you’re simply so sick, you’ll be able to’t, darling, I do not assume…

‘Get up,’ Trump says, taking part in the a part of the associate in his made-up dialog.

Trump mentioned his supporters could be secure in the event that they caucus for him.

‘You’re going to be secure,’ he added. ‘And once more, it should be all indoors.’

The caucuses are an enormous operation, and a few candidates have plans in place to verify supporters are pushed to precincts amid warnings of low temperatures with intense wind chills.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting his ‘underdog’ standing heading into tonight’s Iowa caucuses and hit Donald Trump for ‘trashing’ Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds after she snubbed him and endorsed DeSantis.

‘I all the time like being the underdog. I imply, that is been true,’ he mentioned on Fox News in a remaining interview forward of the kickoff of the caucuses at 8 p.m. ET.

The Florida governor advised host Steve Doocy on Fox & Friends this morning that he needs ‘all Republicans’ to do properly.

He referenced the final minute endorsement by former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in assist of his rival Nikki Haley.

‘I would like all Republicans to do properly. There is a Republican governor that is endorsed one other candidate, however they’re doing properly. I’m not going to trash them,’ he defined.

‘I’m glad that they’re doing it. I feel each Republican ought to take a look at governor Reynolds and say, ‘you understand what? She is getting the job completed.”

‘I feel with Trump that is not how he sees it. She did not endorse him, so he trashes her,’ lambasted DeSantis.

‘You cannot construct a motion like that, you’ve got to have, you understand, a robust tent and you’ve got to have anybody that is polling in the proper course, they should be supporting,’ the governor continued.

I’m glad she is supporting me, I feel it should make a distinction,’ he added.

‘You discuss speeches on the caucus websites. Governor Reynolds has mentioned I’m one of the vital efficient leaders she has ever seen. That’s going to matter for these of us.’

A lethal Arctic blast that has put 100 million Americans underneath a climate warning is sweeping throughout the U.S. as Iowans head to their caucus websites on Monday evening.

The bitter chilly has already killed 4 folks, together with an Oregon girl who died when a fireplace unfold from an open-flame range after a tree fell on to her RV.

In the Dakotas and Montana, forecasters predict a wind chill of minus 70, which may trigger frostbite nearly immediately.

Officials have implored members of the general public to stay house. Similar temperatures will likely be felt from the Northern Rockies all the best way to Kansas.  In the northeast, blinding snow has introduced the area to an nearly standstill.

In Buffalo, New York the place snowfall of 1 to 2 toes was forecast, extreme situations noticed thundersnow – a weird phenomenon during which thunder and lightning happen throughout a snowstorm.

‘The tone on the high issues. The capability to get issues completed issues,’ Haley advised Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy.

‘We need not have 4 extra years of chaos,’ she continued.

‘I’m an accountant, I do know what it takes to get the financial system again on observe. I’ve been a two-term governor that took double digit unemployment state and changed into an influence home.’

‘I handled Russia, China, North Korea on a regular basis. This is an opportunity to reset. We can do that. If you’ll be a part of with me and caucus, I promise you, our greatest days are but to come back,’ she mentioned in a direct attraction to Iowan voters.

Trump remains to be on the right track for a record-breaking win. He instructions 48 p.c assist within the ballot (down three from December), with Haley on 20 (up 4 factors), and DeSantis on 16 p.c (down three).

Haley is intent on a robust second place end. She is difficult Trump within the subsequent state, New Hampshire, and he or she and DeSantis are preventing for the proper to be topped the perfect various to the previous president and knock the opposite out.

2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy ran right into a ditch whereas en path to Des Moines.

‘Just received again to Des Moines after a 5+ hour drive in snow from northwest Iowa,’ he wrote on X.

‘Got caught in snow ditch on the best way. 5 of us tried to push SUV out, lastly received it completed with additional assist from a superb Iowan. Our subsequent 7 occasions will proceed as deliberate, beginning at 9am in Coralville,’ he mentioned on the social media platform.

The candidate made a remaining pitch to caucus goers on Fox & Friends Monday morning saying he’ll ‘struggle corruption’ and ‘communicate the reality.’

‘If you need someone who will shut down that deep state and revive nationwide identification for subsequent technology, I’m asking you to courageous the chilly and caucus for me tonight and save this nation and we’re grateful for this course of.’

The Biden marketing campaign is already gearing up for a common election battle and will likely be ‘carefully’ watching the outcomes of the Iowa caucus.

Biden marketing campaign communications director Michael Tyler mentioned the marketing campaign was ‘excited for the struggle forward’ throughout an look on CNN This Morning.

Tyler mentioned the marketing campaign is ‘eady to present the American folks with the stark distinction between the president, who’s preventing for extra freedom and extra democracy, and these MAGA extremists led by Donald Trump, who need to tear down the material of American democracy.

‘We’ve been gearing up for that struggle since launch in April 2023, and we’re scaling up our operation proper now, to meet the second meet the problem introduced by Donald Trump and the risk that he represents to American democracy.’

Donald Trump mentioned backing Vivek Ramaswamy within the Iowa caucus could be a ‘wasted vote’ as he ramped up assaults on his Republican rival.

The former president has modified his tune on the biotech entrepreneur, who’s working fourth within the polls.

He has accused Ramaswamy of ‘deceitful marketing campaign methods’ within the build-up to the primary Republican major contest.

On Monday monring, he despatched out an all-caps message on Truth Social.

A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO “CUTE” WITH US. CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD UP THE NUMBERS!!! IN NOVEMBER, WE MUST TAKE OUR VERY TROUBLED NATION — A NATION IN DECLINE — BACK FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT. MAGA!!!

A foot of snow and sub-zero temperatures usually are not going to cease Eli Weltman from knocking on his 22,385th door of the marketing campaign.

His Ariat cowboy boots disappear into the contemporary snowfall because the 20-year-old Californian makes his means from sidewalk to doorstep in Marion, a small metropolis in jap Iowa.

Laura Scherbaum, 39, opens the door and listens to his 30-second pitch, describing how he’s working for Never Back Down, an impartial group backing Ron DeSantis within the 2024 Republican major.

It is a win. She fills in certainly one of his ‘decide to caucus’ varieties and says she is going to end up on Monday to offer her assist to the Florida governor as he seeks the Republican nomination to tackle Joe Biden within the presidential election.

It appears a very long time in the past that DeSantis was a rising star and the frontrunner to win the race. In Iowa, the primary state to decide on its most well-liked nominee, polls now put him about thirty factors behind Donald Trump.

But the tremendous PAC Never Back Down is all in. If it will possibly’t win the state for DeSantis, then it’s making an attempt to make use of its enormous fundraising machine and floor sport to ship him to a robust second place end, cementing him as the perfect various to Trump.

And with extra snow coming and temperatures forecast for as little as minus 7F on Monday, something may nonetheless occur if folks keep house.

Do Iowa’s voters truly predict who will turn into president?

The brief reply is not any.

Since the caucuses received their trendy begin in 1972, they’ve solely accurately predicted who would win the presidency 3 times when an incumbent wasn’t on the poll.

The first time got here in 1976, when a peanut farmer turned Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter gained the state for the Democrats.

Carter wasn’t well-known, however his efforts in Iowa catapulted him to the White House, the place he served one time period after beating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford, who took over after President Richard Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.

The solely time the caucuses picked a Republican president occurred in 2000, when Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush, handily gained the Iowa caucuses.

Iowans are inclined to vote for extra conservative candidates – like Bush – so the candidate who grew to become the Texas governor’s chief rival, Sen. John McCain, targeted extra of his consideration on successful the New Hampshire major, which he did.