The Republican presidential candidates were out in full force in Iowa over the weekend, with just days left to sway voters to come out to support them on a night that could be in the single digits or even colder in some parts of the state.
“You just have to put on that warm coat and get out there,” former President Donald Trump told supporters gathered at a community college in Newton, Iowa.
The weekend marked the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, but that date was not foremost in the minds of Iowans attending campaign events or the candidates making final pitches to them.
The GOP contenders focused on emphasizing Iowans’ outsize influence in the nomination process and hammering home the importance of turnout for the January 15 caucuses, whose outcome can help build or break candidates’ momentum in the race.
The unusual caucus process has delivered some surprises in past elections, but Trump has dominated the polling by such a wide margin that other GOP candidates have played down expectations. “Iowa’s going to be a great way for us to start the process, but we certainly have a lot of road after that, and, you know, we’re girded for that long battle,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s staked much of his campaign on the Hawkeye State, said at a campaign event on Sunday.
Trump, who campaigned in Iowa on Friday and Saturday, aired some of his sharpest attacks to date against his own former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, a sign that his campaign perceives Haley as a greater threat than DeSantis.
Crunch time for trailing candidates
As the window narrows to take down Trump, supporters of DeSantis and Haley are feeling the heat and hoping their candidates will ramp up attacks on the former president.
On Saturday, Haley was confronted by a supporter who said she…
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