All the major candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are campaigning in Iowa as they appeal to supporters to turn out for the caucuses despite the frigid weather.
Donald Trump implored his supporters Sunday to brave frigid temperatures and deliver him a decisive victory in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, saying their vote would help bring to Washington the retribution he has repeatedly promised if he returns to the White House.
The former president has set sky-high expectations for his own performance in the first contest of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He spent the day before the caucuses trying to ensure he meets them. His main GOP rivals all spent Sunday in Iowa as well, making last-minute appeals to Iowans open to hearing them.
At a rally in Indianola, Trump said his supporters could fight back against his political enemies, claiming that the four indictments he faces were driven by politics and renewing his false claims about the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
“These caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps and other quite nice people,” Trump told the audience.
Ron DeSantis, who has bet big on Iowa, exuded confidence in national interviews as they compete for a caucus showing that will boost their campaigns even if they don’t beat Trump.
The final Des Moines Register/ NBC News poll before Monday’s caucuses found Trump maintaining a formidable lead, supported by nearly half of likely caucusgoers, compared with 20% for Haley and 16% for DeSantis.
“With our folks, they’re committed, they’re gonna be there,” DeSantis said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” noting that the Republican calendar doesn’t end with Iowa.
Because of travel conditions from Des Moines, Haley canceled a Sunday morning stop in the eastern city of Dubuque about an hour before it was to start.
“It’s been 11 months, and it comes down to tomorrow,” Haley said of Monday’s votes, repeating her frequent call to GOP voters to elect her as a “new generational leader that leaves the negativity and the baggage behind and focuses on the solutions of the future.”
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