Record-breaking low temperatures and winter storms may complicate Iowa’s caucuses as events are canceled and voters question what to do.
While the Associated Press reported that snow was continuing to pile on top of the eight inches that had already fallen outside, some people still made the risky trek out to see Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in Waukee.
“There were moments on the drive up here, I was like, ‘What are we doing?’” Kadee Miller told the outlet of her seven-mile drive from Adel for the Tuesday event. “The reason we drove up here is to really see who she is.”
Miller is unsure which Republican will get her vote, but she says she will still make it to the in-person leadoff caucuses despite the Associated Press predicting “a frigid, slap-you-in-the-face cold night in the forecast.”
“It’s important. It’s kind of our civil duty, right?” said Miller, 49. “So that’s what we have to do.”
People stand on a large snow pile in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on January 9, 2024, as another person uses a snow blower. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
While the GOP’s caucuses officially begin on Monday, January 15, Iowa Democrats have decided to opt out of in-person primary voting altogether. Instead, they have opted to send out mail-in ballots listing incumbent President Joe Biden, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Marianne Williamson, and an option for “uncommitted,” according to ABC News.
The GOP offers more choices — Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former U.N. Ambassador Haley, and the little-known Texas pastor Ryan Binkley.
According to the Des Moines Register, data from the National Weather Service shows there has never been a colder Iowa caucus night than what is forecast for January 15.
Heavy snow falls as a man walks along the Skywalk system that connects buildings downtown on January 8, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The previous coldest was in 2004 when the high temperature was 16 degrees.
According to Des Moines-based meteorologist Chad Hahn, it will be much worse in 2024.
“We may not warm above zero degrees on Monday,” he said. “I would not be surprised if we don’t get above minus-20 degrees for wind chills beginning on Sunday.”
A person uses a snowblower to clear a sidewalk as a snowstorm dumps several inches of snow on the area on January 9, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Trump’s campaign was forced to cancel events where surrogates were set to advocate for the GOP frontrunner, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and his daughter, current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The senior Huckabee, the winner of the caucuses in 2008, alerted his social media followers that the plane he was to use to get to the event would be unable to make it due to “bad weather” in both Iowa and Little Rock, Arkansas.
“Due to bad weather in both Iowa & Little Rock tomorrow, the plane we were to use to get there & back for the @realDonaldTrump events is unable to go & we have to cancel,” he posted to X Sunday. “I hope IA caucus goers turn out next week and send a MAGA message by voting for @realDonaldTrump.”
Due to bad weather in both Iowa & Little Rock tomorrow, the plane we were to use to get there & back for the @realDonaldTrump events is unable to go & we have to cancel. I hope IA caucus goers turn out next week and send a MAGA message by voting for @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/oKcF2rdGYf
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) January 7, 2024
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who has been making waves in the media, said his car got stuck in a ditch while driving in the snow Monday night in Iowa. He was subsequently forced to cancel his Tuesday morning event, saying it was “effectively impossible to safely get from Des Moines to Coralville.”
It now appears effectively impossible to safely get from Des Moines to Coralville for our first event. We will postpone our visit to Coralville & will make sure we return there again before the caucus. We will resume our schedule today as soon as it becomes possible to drive. 🇺🇸
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 9, 2024
However, his campaign quickly managed to get back on the road after the weather forced him to call in to an event via iPad tablet.
Due to weather conditions, Vivek Ramaswamy was unable to attend a campaign event in Pella, IA in person. He did, however, join via iPad. pic.twitter.com/Zip2JQzklC
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 10, 2024
The same day of the canceled morning event, he held a town hall in a packed West Des Moines restaurant.
NBC: “vIvEK iS caNcElLiNg hIs aPPeArAnceS aFtEr mOCkiNg nIKki hAleY fOr cAnCelLiNg eVeNTs”
Vivek: https://t.co/QWydl4V8XO pic.twitter.com/FBHS7hcOOD
— Malcolm Fle (@Malcolm_fleX48) January 10, 2024
This came after Haley canceled her Monday event in Sioux City due to the weather, while some pointed out that Ramaswamy’s wife, Apoorva, managed to hold a successful event in Indianola.
A story in two photos:
Nikki Haley’s event in Sioux City (population 85k) was canceled because not one single person showed up while APOORVA Ramaswamy’s event in Indianola (population 15k) — that was scheduled with short notice — was standing-room only!
Then again, why would… pic.twitter.com/Crclt3c5vU
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) January 8, 2024
Brad Remsburg, 51, made the journey from West Des Moines to see Haley on Tuesday morning despite the freezing snowstorm, telling the Associated Press that he would not let the weather stop him or his son from getting to the caucuses.
“Well, yeah, it’s cold,” said his son Jake, 23. He added that he could just put on a coat to bear the frigid temperatures.
“You can see he didn’t even wear one today,” his father noted.
Trump is set to headline four rallies across the state before January 15, with his campaign promising to make sure that “people are well taken care of” during the bad weather and vowing to ensure that people are quickly able to get inside venues.
The former president joked about his chilly walk from the car in Sioux Center when the high was 34 degrees.
Complimenting his “hardy” supporters waiting in line for him, he said, “That’s cold out there. That’s a long wait, right? I said, uh, ‘Where’s my coat?’”
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