DES MOINES, Iowa—Howling winds, blowing snow, and sub-zero temperatures hampered Republican presidential candidates making their final campaign rounds ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses.
The Hawkeye state battled its second blizzard in a week after up to 15 inches of snow fell in some areas on Jan. 12, quickly followed by a sharp drop in temperature and winds above 25 miles per hour.
Most of the candidates altered their campaign schedules on Jan. 12 and 13 because of the dangerous travel conditions. Here’s a look at the blizzard strategies of each campaign.
Tele-Rallies and Surrogates
Former President Donald Trump canceled a Jan. 12 event featuring former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and released a video message to supporters that evening.
President Trump is not in Iowa but promised supporters via a Jan. 12 video message that he would arrive there “around Saturday night” despite the weather.
“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 anybody else,” President Trump said. “So maybe it’s actually a good thing for us.”
The former president dispatched Ms. Lake to Urbandale on Saturday to meet with his volunteers and supporters at his state campaign headquarters.
Ms. Lake told the crowd that their effort was about “getting President Trump elected and it’s about saving our Republic.”
“No matter how windy, no matter how cold, we’ve gotta put our boots on,” Ms. Lake said, urging attendees to take part in the Jan. 15 caucuses despite the forecasted sub-zero temperatures.
She called on campaign volunteers to fulfill a prior commitment to bring 10 people to the caucuses.
“We need to go out and make history,” she said. “This is a moment of good versus evil.”
President Trump used social media to attack Vivek Ramaswamy for the first time on Jan. 13.
Former President Donald Trump declared that businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is “not MAGA.” The statement marks the first time the former president has gone after the entrepreneur, who has been a staunch defender of President Trump. Both also align on many of their domestic and foreign policies, despite their generational differences.
“Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter,” President Trump said in a Truth Social post late on Saturday afternoon. “Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks.” President Trump added that Mr. Ramaswamy, who has been a staunch defender of the former president, is “not MAGA.”
President Trump held a tele-rally on the evening of Jan. 13 in which he fielded questions from Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, contrasting his policies with those of Democrat President Joe Biden.
President Trump also criticized former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, saying, “Nikki is a person who is getting a lot of her money from globalists, and globalists are not good for our country,” he said.
He added that he got to know Ms. Haley very well when she served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “She was ‘OK,’ but she’s not strong enough to be president,” he said.
Political Heavy Hitters, Plus Mom
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made two low-key appearances on Jan. 12, one to top allies in Ankeney and the other with volunteers at his campaign headquarters that afternoon.
The governor returned to the campaign trail on Jan. 13 with an altered schedule. Mr. DeSantis had three events scheduled, including an afternoon stop in West Des Moines where a trio of Iowa political heavyweights braved the cold to stump for him.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, evangelical kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats, and conservative talk-show host Steve Deace—all of whom have endorsed DeSantis—appeared on his behalf. They were joined by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
Each of them pitched Mr. DeSantis as a proven leader who can deliver for the nation the results he has accomplished as a governor.
The crowd of some 100 attendees appeared to be evenly split between campaign volunteers, community members, and supporters of the governor who had traveled from other states to aid in the caucus push.
Mr. DeSantis’s record of accomplishments had drawn the support of many in the room. The economy also weighed on the minds of some.
“I have a son that works two jobs, and his wife works as well. And they still struggle to make ends meet,” Lori Tiangco of West Des Moines told The Epoch Times.
The winter weather did not deter Mr. DeSantis’s mother, Karen DeSantis, from joining her son on the campaign trail. Ms. DeSantis spent the morning knocking on doors in West Des Moines before joining her son at the rally. Casey DeSantis, wife of the candidate, also appeared on stage with their son Mason.
Coffee Beans and Rising Polls
Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley did not make appearances on Jan. 12 but resumed campaigning the following day with three events. The South Carolinian also got a boost from a pair of polls, though one is highly informal.
The latest Iowa poll by the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom, and the last one before caucus night, was released on Jan. 13 showing Ms. Haley pulling further ahead of Mr. DeSantis.
Though President Trump still commands the field with 48 percent, that number is down two percentage points from other recent polls. Ms. Haley clocked in at 20 percent to Mr. DeSantis’s 16 percent. Vivek Ramaswamy jumped up to 8 percent—a 2 percent gain.
Ms. Haley also did well in the Coffee Bean Caucus held in Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City. The restaurant conducts an informal poll of its patrons who vote for their preferred candidate by dropping a coffee bean into a glass jar.
A visual check of the jars on Jan. 13 showed the South Carolinian running close to former President Donald Trump. The poll is open through the end of the caucus season.
On the campaign trail, Ms. Haley made a stop in Iowa City where Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) introduced her as the candidate having the best chance to “fire Joe Biden and enable a Republican to move forward.”
Ms. Haley, who has campaigned heavily on the issue of electability, told attendees, “I defeat Biden by double-digits” consistently in polls, including the latest one by 17 points. “That’s a mandate going into D.C.”
‘Full Steam, Baby’
Vivek Ramaswamy refused to cancel campaign events on either day despite the heavy snowfall and high winds.
“Full steam[,] baby,” Zach Henry, a spokesperson for the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign, wrote in a message to The Epoch Times.
The team was slated for four stops on Jan. 12. “We’ll continue to every last one for as long as we can *physically* make it,” Mr. Ramaswamy wrote on X.
Mr. Ramaswamy and his team arrived back in Des Moines in the early hours of Jan. 13 after a five-hour drive in blizzard conditions.
“Got stuck in snow ditch on the way. 5 of us tried to push SUV out, finally got it done with extra help from a good Iowan,” the candidate posted on X at 2:43 a.m.
“Our next 7 events will continue as planned, starting at 9am in Coralville.”
Extreme cold is forecast for the next two days in Iowa, with temperatures failing to rise above 0 degrees. The Iowa Caucuses convene at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15.
Nathan Worcester, Janice Hisle, Joseph Lord, John Haughey, and Austin Alonzo contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
