1 of 3 | Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shakes hands with voters during a campaign event in Atlantic, Iowa, on Saturday. DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump are campaigning across Iowa in the final days before the state holds its first-in-the-nation caucus on Monday. Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
Jan. 13 (UPI) — Republican presidential hopefuls are dashing through the snow on Saturday to rally their supporters ahead of the looming Iowa Caucus.
Blizzard warnings were still in effect for several Iowa counties, with temperatures reaching near zero in Des Moines, but that didn’t stop former President Donald Trump‘s Republican rivals from making their impassioned pitches to voters ahead of Monday’s vote.
After cancelling all of his Friday events because of the winter storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a stop Saturday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to deliver a promise to supporters.
“If you’re willing to go out there, and you’re willing to brave the elements … for me and do that for a few hours, I’ll fight for you for the next eight years,” he said.
The governor also took aim at Trump for canceling some of his in-person events in favor of tele-rallies due to the blizzard.
“Donald Trump I guess has phoned it in. He’s just gonna be hanging out in Mar-A-Lago. I’m sure it’s probably 75 degrees there,” DeSantis said in Council Bluffs, where some 70 people braved minus-30-degree wind chills to hear him speak.
Trump, however, announced on Truth Social that he is on his way to Iowa.
“Heading to Iowa. Make America Great Again!,” the former president posted Saturday morning.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex., also was fighting in DeSantis’ corner Saturday. The anti-Trump Republican spoke at Council Bluffs where he implied the 2020 election was stolen, but Trump’s COVID-19 policies were also to blame for his loss.
“When you shut down the economy, when you shut down government and when you allow states to create millions of mail-in ballots, you’re going to get the fraud that kills your own election,” Roy said.
No evidence of voter fraud sufficient to sway the outcome of the 2020 presidential election has ever been produced.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, meanwhile, met with voters in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while sporting a shirt that read “She who dares, wins” and telling her supporters they “might be making history.”
“And I’m not talking about history of a female president,” she said. “I’m talking about history saying we are going to finally right the ship in America. We’re finally going to get it right.”
Haley also warned her supporters Monday would be cold, so they ought to “wear layers” for when they’re in line at the polls.
Haley only has one congressional endorser, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who is campaigning for her in Iowa.
“Whether it’s taking on the big-spending establishment or defending the sanctity of human life, Nikki has always fought on the front lines of the important conservative battles,” Norman said in a campaign announcement. “I’m excited to come to Iowa and help her win every vote leading up to caucus day.”
With just two day’s until Monday’s caucus, Trump is far outpacing his opponents in polling. Trump has 51.3% support among Iowans, while Haley stands at 17.3% and DeSantis is at 16.1%
Support for Haley outpaced DeSantis going into the weekend, as DeSantis previously had a 3-point lead on Haley just a week ago.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who only garnered 6.6% support despite holding the most events of any candidate in Iowa, rallied voters in Spencer for one last push ahead of the caucus. He told the crowd, however, that he would caucus for Trump if he wasn’t running against him.
“If I weren’t in this race, I couldn’t imagine caucusing for anybody else other than Donald Trump,” Ramaswamy said.