INDIANOLA, Iowa — When former President Donald Trump urged his enthusiastic Iowa supporters to caucus for him regardless of the subzero temperatures, even saying “if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it,” it generated headlines.
But conversations with Iowans at events for the candidates ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses revealed the sentiment wasn’t so far off. Person after person shrugged off the frigid temperatures — the coldest caucus on record according to the Des Moines Register.
“We’re big on voting in my family, so I’m going to go,” said Tierny Perkins, a Simpson College student studying Political Science. After attending the Trump rally on her campus, Perkins remained committed to picking the former president for her first-ever caucus, but raised concern about turnout due to the freezing temperatures.
“This weather is definitely going to stop a lot of people,” she said. “But, I think that those who want to vote will get out, and those who are on the fence won’t go because of the cold.” In the end, 110,000 Iowans showed up to caucus meetings across the state, down from higher levels of participation in 2016 and 2012, according to CBS News. Nonetheless, this was still a strong showing given Trump was the frontrunner.
For caucusgoers like Perkins, this was a significant and exciting event as Iowans have America’s first chance to weigh in on their Republican presidential preference. While the GOP candidates have spent many months campaigning throughout the 99 counties of Iowa, the winter storm conditions forced Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, among others, to alter their schedules.
Most campaign events were canceled Saturday as blizzard conditions blanketed the Hawkeye State. Thus, Sunday was the candidates’ last chance to mobilize their supporters and reach Iowans prior to the critical caucus.
Jacqueline Riekena, 58, who moved to West Des Moines 15 years ago from Seattle, voted for Trump in the last two caucuses, but committed to Ramaswamy on Monday. Will the inclement weather deter her from voting? “Absolutely not!”
She said she believes the record-setting amount of snowfall that Iowa received over the previous week “will have a huge toll on the caucusing.”
Riekena, who was seated a few feet away from Ramaswamy at his campaign event at Grimaldi’s Pizza on Sunday in Ankeny, explained that despite how others may react to the weather, no amount of snow or harsh weather conditions would stop her from exercising her right to vote. “It was 20 degrees when I left my house this morning and the snow was up to my porch, but I only live 2 miles away from the nearest caucus location,” she said.
According to the National Weather Service, the wind chill pushed the temperature as low as -45 degrees Fahrenheit Monday evening just as Iowans began to line up at their local caucus locations. If the caucusgoers were outside for extended periods of time, the dangerous weather could put them at risk of frostbite. This record-breaking forecast had the ability to keep Iowans, who are accustomed to the cold, at home. Caucus attendees were advised to put on extra layers of clothing to combat the extreme conditions.
In Adel at a rally on the eve of the caucus, Haley, the former South Carolina governor, addressed the need of Iowans to trudge on through caucus night. “We’re going to be out there in the snow like we’ve been all day today and up until the very last second,” she said.
Haley expressed confidence that Iowans would turn out for her. “My Southern skin has struggled, but y’all are taking it to a new level,” she said.
Jane Sturtz, who traveled from Ankeny to attend the Haley rally with her husband, acknowledged the harsh weather conditions that all Iowans were experiencing. “It’s been a long time since we had this much snow in such a short amount of time,” she said.
Sturtz remained steadfast that she would show up for Haley no matter the circumstances and said she believed that others who were truly committed to their favorite candidates would make the trek as well. “Iowans are pretty tough,” she said. “We go to school, we go to work, and we are going to push through it.”