Tonight’s Freezing-Cold Caucus: Everything to Know

It’s Iowa Caucus Day, Monday, Jan. 15.

Hey folks, it’s Amie, and it’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Iowa Caucus Day!

First, honor Dr. King’s legacy by attending one of the biggest MLK Day events across the state this year.

And if what you’re doing for others includes caucusing, here’s how to do that:

1. Bundle up. Subzero temperatures, with wind chill warnings and temperatures in dangerous territory, are expected across Iowa. Dress in layers and keep an emergency kit and blankets in your car in case you get stranded on the way there or back, or in case there’s a line out the door.
2. Find your caucus location. For Democrats, that’s here. For Republicans, that’s here.
3. You can choose which party’s caucus to attend. To vote in a caucus, you have to be registered with the political party whose caucus you wish to vote in. But don’t worry if you’re not yet, or want to switch sides: Iowa law allows you to register or change your affiliation at the caucus. (But just know, it’s illegal to vote in more than one caucus in the same electoral cycle.)

How the Republican caucus works:

• Republicans will be choosing their Presidential nominee tonight at 7 p.m. Voters will do so by secret ballot in each location, after hearing short speeches.
• Bring identification with you, and if you’re registering with the party for the first time, proof of address (see which documents count for that here).
• Republicans will also be conducting party business like choosing convention delegates and prioritizing issues.
• For those of you who have never caucused, here’s a deeper explanation of how it works on the Republican side.

How the Democratic caucus works:

• This year, the national party threw a wrench in Iowa Democrats’ first-in-the-nation caucuses.
• So instead of picking the nominee tonight, those who attend at 7 p.m. tonight will do all other business: choosing convention delegates, prioritizing big issues, and organizing other party business.
• The vote for Presidential nominee will take place
  entirely by mail. Find out more about that process here, and request a Presidential Preference Card from the party by Feb. 19 here. Results will be compiled and released March 5.

The Starting Line team will be out in force today and tonight, frostbite be damned. We appreciate you following along!

Evangelical leaders predict huge caucus turnout, downplay endorsements

It’s caucus prediction time!

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the national Faith & Freedom Coalition, said he expects turnout from evangelical voters to be high this year.

“We think a far higher raw number than anyone anticipates is going to brave this cold weather and frigid temperatures, and they are going to turn out and they are going to make history,” Reed said.

Expected to win Iowa: Donald Trump

Based on polling, former President Donald Trump is expected to win the Iowa Republican Caucus by a wide margin.

“They’ll walk over glass—the Trump voter is coming to vote,” Trump told supporters in Des Moines this week, as reports began surfacing that temperatures could be the coldest on record for the Iowa Caucus.

Trump reiterated that in Indianola: “If you’re sick as a dog … even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it.”

Trump has a wide lead in the polls, despite him saying things to Iowa crowds like:

• President Abraham Lincoln should have compromised on slavery to prevent the Civil War,
• the US should build a giant dome over the country,
• he doesn’t actually know the price of a gallon of gas,
• Biden (a Catholic) is “violently” attacking Catholics (he’s not).

And that’s also despite his multiple, ongoing legal troubles, revelations that he received at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments during his four years as President, his ongoing extremist and authoritarian tendencies, and more.

Nikki Haley: ‘Don’t complain’ about general election if you don’t pick me

Nikki Haley has been giving her last-ditch appeals to Republican caucus voters during campaign appearances across Eastern Iowa this weekend, despite blizzard and sub-freezing temperatures.

She told voters in Cedar Falls she knew they were excited for everything to be over so they would get “no more commercials, no more mail, no more text messages.”

And she told voters in Adel another Trump presidency would bring “chaos.”

The former South Carolina governor and US ambassador recently polled at around 20% of likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa—a distant second place behind former President Donald Trump’s 48%, but ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 16%.

If she does manage a second-place showing tonight, she’s likely to take that success into New Hampshire next week, where she’s polling at 28% and much closer to Trump.

Ron DeSantis: Despite Gov. Reynolds endorsement, polling in 3rd place

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t see a big bump from the endorsement of Iowa’s popular (among Republicans) Gov. Kim Reynolds—and has actually been losing ground in recent weeks to Nikki Haley.

DeSantis still has a formidable Iowa presence, and might still eke out a surprise second-place victory here.

But the biggest news out of his recent events were protesters from the Sunrise Movement in Iowa, who pointed out loudly at his recent event in Ames that the candidate doesn’t want to do anything about climate change.

Vivek Ramaswamy needs a miracle

A few months ago, Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy saw a bump in support after a Republican debate went his way.

But since then, his campaign has languished here, with around 8% of Republicans saying the man who floated the idea of raising the voting age to 25 and wants to dismantle the FBI was their first choice.

So he’s still crisscrossing the state to meet with folks, and predicted a “big surprise” during a stop in Rock Rapids.

Anything can happen on Iowa Caucus night.

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