URBANDALE, Iowa — As a historic blizzard bore down on the first presidential caucus state of Iowa, a shivering , some Iowa Republicans believe the former president is poised to attract the votes of the vast majority first-time caucus participants—which would be good news for him, save for the fact that first-timers are seen as less likely to show up in bad weather.
Some DeSantis and Haley loyalists seem prepared to compete for every last vote, no matter how miserable it gets in Iowa. Tom Davis, a South Carolina state senator and Haley supporter, posted on X that his flight from Charlotte to Des Moines was canceled—so he planned to rent a car and drive the 800 mile trip instead.
Meanwhile, DeSantis was joined in Urbandale on Friday by a top ally, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who drove eight hours from St. Louis after his flight to Des Moines got canceled. “A true alpha male right there,” a DeSantis volunteer remarked before the pair headed outside to address reporters.
With nowhere else for the press to go on a snow day, DeSantis played media critic after insisting “our voters are by and large committed caucus goers.”
Speaking with a Newsmax microphone right in front of him, the Florida governor called out the conservative media for treating Trump with kid gloves. Referring to Fox News and unspecified outlets as “basically a Praetorian Guard” protecting Trump, DeSantis charged “they don’t hold him accountable because they’re worried about losing viewers.”
“That’s just the reality,” DeSantis continued. “That’s just the truth.”
Now, the strength of his Iowa operation will be put to the test along with everyone else’s, but the remark from DeSantis signaled a potential excuse for a widely predicted Trump victory—regardless of how the weather impacts the contest.
Indeed, though the late stages of caucus campaigning have been derailed by the weather, Scheffler, the longtime Iowa Republican, said the major dynamics of the race are already locked in.
The most important players in Monday night, he said, could end up being the campaign representatives who speak at their local caucus sites right before Iowans cast their ballots—effectively the final impressions campaigns can make on any remaining undecided voters.
“In terms of the trajectory, I don’t think there’s much you can change at this point in time,” Scheffler said. “I think maybe 10, 15 percent of people are going into the night undecided, so it’s important to have a good person giving the speech up there.”
Still, he said the former president shouldn’t have much to worry about if the cold keeps any significant number of likely caucus goers indoors.
“And again,” the seasoned Iowa hand said, “Trump supporters seem to be more in concrete than the others are.”
