Turnout in this year's frigid Iowa caucuses was the lowest in years, with nearly 80,000 fewer people voting than in the state's last Republican caucus in 2016.
The Iowa Republican Party announced this morning that a total of 110,298 votes have been counted in the state's 99 counties. That's down from 186,932 in 2016 and 121,503 in 2012, according to Des Moines Register statistics.
“We had a great turnout and I don't think the weather affected us at all,” Boone County Republican Party Chairman Gary Nystrom told The Washington Post. The newspaper also reported that turnout in 2008 was 119,207 people. “People were excited to get out. Iowans are taking this very seriously.”
“People may think we're crazy, but we're used to cold weather,” Nystrom added.
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People walk past the Nikki Haley sign at Fellows Elementary School on Monday, Jan. 15, in Ames, Iowa, near the caucus site for the Republican presidential nominee. (Reuters/Cheney Orr)
“Today turned out to be the coldest Iowa caucus day in history since 1972,” the National Weather Service said in a post on X Monday.
“Highest temperatures in Des Moines (+1°) and Waterloo (-1°) were 15 to 16 degrees cooler than the previous coldest caucus day.”
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People arrive for the Republican presidential caucus at the home of Silver City Mayor Sharon McNutt and her husband, Gary, in Silver City, Iowa, on Monday. (Reuters/Scott Morgan)
Wind gusts exceeding 20 mph were expected to bring temperatures to feel like -20 degrees in Iowa on Monday. According to Fox Weather.
“It's not a 'going out in the daytime' type of story, even though it's so cold and we're talking about things that happened at night,” said David Richards, associate professor of political science. Lynchburg, Virginia told Fox Weather. “It tends to make some people uncomfortable. And if you're a more casual attendee, I think the elements might make you uncomfortable.”
Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump, and Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis are at the caucus venue at the Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, on Monday. A sign was put up. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign after the caucuses and endorsed Trump. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
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Mr Richards added: “I can't help but think that some people will be standing still in -20C temperatures. It's going to be a dangerous situation.” “I think it's completely different from saying, “It's raining, so I don't want to get wet.''
