With the blizzard currently pounding Iowa, most 2024 GOP candidates have been forced to alter their plans this weekend.
While some events are still happening and others have turned into virtual events, here’s a short rundown of what’s shaking out this weekend on the ground in Iowa.
Trump Schedule
Trump had two caucus rally events planned for Saturday but both have been canceled along with one event on Sunday. As of now, the in-person Sunday rally in Indianola is still happening. Here’s an adjusted schedule from the Trump campaign listing changes to the weekend events:
Haley Schedule
According to the Des Moines Register, Haley canceled her Friday events and would be holding virtual events over the weekend:
Nikki Haley’s campaign canceled three in-person events scheduled Friday in Fort Dodge, Le Mars and Council Bluffs due to the weather. Instead, campaign officials said they would be hosting telephone town halls.
“Stormy weather won’t stop us from ensuring Iowans hear Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America,” Pat Garrett, a Haley spokesperson, said in a statement. “With only three days until the caucuses, we’re going to keep telling voters why they should Pick Nikki.”
Speaking virtually to callers who hoped to see her in Fort Dodge, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor apologized to them and joked about how she knows she’s not “in South Carolina anymore.”
“It is beyond cold,” she said.
DeSantis Schedule
DeSantis also scrapped events on Friday and the rest of the weekend is still up in the air:
Ron DeSantis spoke at the Northside Conservative Club in Ankeny Friday morning alongside Gov. Kim Reynolds, but Never Back Down, the PAC supporting DeSantis’ campaign, canceled the rest of his events for the day. DeSantis made an impromptu midday visit to his campaign office in Urbandale, though.He took questions from a small mob of reporters on the snowy steps outside the office, as snow fell and wind whipped past.“Nothing’s handed to you in this life, much less a presidential nomination,” he said. “So if you have to go and trudge through snow to be able to earn the vote, you trudge through snow to be able to earn the vote.”
DeSantis flexed his commitment to holding events in all Iowa’s 99 counties. He said a strong ground game is essential when dealing with an eleventh-hour snowstorm and predicted sub-zero temperatures on Monday night.“There’s a machinery that goes with a caucus no matter what, but especially now with what the weather’s gonna be like,” he said.Never Back Down, the PAC supporting DeSantis, canceled Friday events in Clear Lake, Marshalltown, Pella and Coralville.
The DeSantis campaign is attempting to make an issue out of the snow touting their decision to “show up” and hold events regardless of the weather:
Trump cancelled events. Haley cancelled events. Know who didn't cancel events? #desantis that's who. If he will stand in the middle of a snowstorm and tell Iowans what he will for them, he will stand up to corrupt politicians for all of us. #DeSantisForPresident2024 pic.twitter.com/tVWjp0fxED
— DonnaDee (@DonnaDee5496) January 13, 2024
It’ll be a messy weekend for last-minute campaigning in the Hawkeye State capped off with sub-zero freezing temperatures on caucus night. The question will be which candidate’s supporters decide to brave the wintery mix and head to their caucus location Monday evening.
Stay tuned for updates as the weekend develops.
