(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Iowans venture out to the first-in-the-nation caucuses as candidates make final appeals [1] ['Robin Opsahl', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-15 Iowans will soon begin gathering at precinct caucus locations Monday night to make their pick as the first-in-the-nation contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nominating cycle. Republican caucusgoers must be at their precinct locations — often different from their polling locations — at 7 p.m. Monday in order to participate. State party officials recommend getting to the caucuses early, to ensure they are registered and Voter ID verified before the event begins. People not registered as Republican voters have the ability to register to vote at their caucus sites by bringing an accepted ID and proof of residence. Learn more about how to participate in the 2024 Iowa GOP caucuses here. Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are among the candidates on caucus ballots for Monday. After the caucuses, most of the candidates will hold Iowa watch parties with supporters and media to track results before heading to New Hampshire and South Carolina, the first and second primaries in the GOP nominating process, to continue their campaigns. The most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll found Trump in the lead with 48% of likely GOP caucusgoers’ support, followed by Haley at 20% and DeSantis at 16%. While interest is high, low temperatures and recent winter storms could hinder participation in the Monday night event. The 2024 Iowa caucuses are set to be the coldest in history. In the final hours before the state contest, candidates made their final push to bring Iowans out to caucus. Haley held events in Des Moines, Pella and Newton Monday, while DeSantis traveled to Sergeant Bluff, Council Bluffs, and Cedar Rapids to give his final rallying call. DeSantis repeated his calls for his supporters to go out despite the cold weather in a Sergeant Bluff stop Monday afternoon. He promised that if Iowans will dedicate a few hours to supporting him on caucus night, he will be “fighting for you for the next eight years.” He also said he believes his supporters are passionate enough about his campaign to show up. The Florida governor thanked volunteers and supporters who travelled to Iowa to phone back and go door-to-door in the final days before the caucuses, saying it showed the energy behind his campaign. “The former president, how many people that served that his administration are even willing to publicly support him — much less come in negative temperatures to go door to door?” DeSantis said. “Not a lot. Whereas with us, this is, this is what they want to do.” In a tele-town hall less than two hours before the caucuses start, Haley answered questions from voters on issues from Israel to congressional term limits. The former United Nations ambassador said that as president, she would work to reduce divisiveness in American politics and change the “tone in our country” to bring Americans together. She thanked Iowans for their kindness during her time on the campaign trail and urged them to go to the caucuses, bringing friends, family and voter ID. “Make sure you spread the word, because we are going to do something that’s going to really make you proud,” Haley said. “And I will focus every day on proving that you made the right decision.” Though Trump did not have public events scheduled before the caucuses Monday, he attacked his rival candidates in a post on TruthSocial. The former president called Haley a “Globalist RINO” who would not be supported by “MAGA” Republicans in the general election, adding that “Ron DeSanctimonious, at least, is MAGA-Lite” and that votes for Ramaswamy are “wasted.” “Remember, I think MAGA is almost ALL of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote. “… It’s not going to happen for her, or DeSanctimonious!” The Republican Party of Iowa will release results on their website Monday night. The party has designated volunteers to record and report results at each precinct site using a web-based application, which will be posted publicly following verification by state GOP staff. This story was published earlier by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/01/15/iowans-venture-out-to-the-first-in-the-nation-caucuses-as-candidates-make-final-appeals/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/