In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory in the Iowa caucuses, some folks, not enamored with the notion of putting a clear and present danger to democracy back in the White House, took some comfort in the numbers.
But like the weather in Iowa, it was cold comfort.
Just roughly 110,000 voters participated, or 15 percent of more than 750,000 registered Republicans. So, Trump’s 30-point victory, with 55,000 preference votes, represented a very small slice of the Iowa Republican pie. And nearly half of the voters who showed up cast ballots for Trump’s opponents. Don’t call it a landslide, they insisted.
Maybe it was the below-zero temperatures. Maybe it was the foretold inevitability of a big Trump win.
But Iowa has been a solidly Trumpian enclave for years. The Republican Party in Iowa has largely converted to Trumpism as Iowa transformed from a competitive purple state into a thoroughly red state led by Trump acolytes. The notion higher turnout would have produced a different outcome denies the facts. Half of DeSantis supporters named Trump as their second choice.
And Iowans who did show up had a choice between Trump and more reasonable Republican candidates. There’s Nikki Haley, who might not make you break out in a cold sweat when they hand her the nuclear codes.
And yet, they still gave the former president a record-setting victory margin. Despite all the horrors of the Trump presidency and its aftermath, most Iowa Republicans who caucused want to make him president again.
Good Lord. But why?
According to entrance polling, 66 percent of GOP caucusgoers believe President Biden’s 2020 win was illegitimate. Two-thirds believe Trump is fit for the presidency even if he is convicted of crimes.
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“My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa,” said former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson as he departed the presidential race on Tuesday. He received less than 200 votes.
He shouldn’t have have bothered trying to campaign on honesty and integrity. Our road to the presidency starts with a small group of voters who are Trump apologists with extreme views. Makes total sense.
Not even Gov. Kim Reynolds could convince her fellow Republicans to jump off the Trump train. Her endorsed candidate, Ron Disantis, got second, but trailed Trump by 30 points. Trump and his campaign lambasted her for picking “Ron DeSanctimonious .”
So, what now, governor?
“I’ll support Trump if he’s the nominee,” Reynolds told Neil Cavuto on Fox News.
“After all the stuff he’s said about you?” Cavuto said.
“Yeah, because we’ve got to win,” Reynolds said.
After ignoring all the lies, impeachments, indictments and a violent attempt to overturn a lawful election, it is pretty easy to blow off some name-calling. Reynolds’ skill at playing weathervane politics is legendary.
So, there was little drama expected and even less delivered. Roughly a half hour after caucuses began, the Associated Press dubbed Trump the victor. Some caucusgoers hadn’t even voted yet.
The DeSantis campaign called it “election interference.” The Republican Party of Iowa called it “highly disappointing and concerning.” The AP can report what it knows any way it wants, but it was odd to rush to report a result everyone knew was coming. Hardly a scoop.
In the end, the result we assumed would happen for months, if not years, happened. NPR did the math and found that GOP hopefuls who spent $124 million on campaign ads could have, instead, written a check to every caucusgoer for $1,124. Maybe Iowans could have used the bucks to find real comfort in someplace warm.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
But like the weather in Iowa, it was cold comfort.
Just roughly 110,000 voters participated, or 15 percent of more than 750,000 registered Republicans. So, Trump’s 30-point victory, with 55,000 preference votes, represented a very small slice of the Iowa Republican pie. And nearly half of the voters who showed up cast ballots for Trump’s opponents. Don’t call it a landslide, they insisted.
Maybe it was the below-zero temperatures. Maybe it was the foretold inevitability of a big Trump win.
But Iowa has been a solidly Trumpian enclave for years. The Republican Party in Iowa has largely converted to Trumpism as Iowa transformed from a competitive purple state into a thoroughly red state led by Trump acolytes. The notion higher turnout would have produced a different outcome denies the facts. Half of DeSantis supporters named Trump as their second choice.
And Iowans who did show up had a choice between Trump and more reasonable Republican candidates. There’s Nikki Haley, who might not make you break out in a cold sweat when they hand her the nuclear codes.
And yet, they still gave the former president a record-setting victory margin. Despite all the horrors of the Trump presidency and its aftermath, most Iowa Republicans who caucused want to make him president again.
Good Lord. But why?
According to entrance polling, 66 percent of GOP caucusgoers believe President Biden’s 2020 win was illegitimate. Two-thirds believe Trump is fit for the presidency even if he is convicted of crimes.
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“My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa,” said former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson as he departed the presidential race on Tuesday. He received less than 200 votes.
He shouldn’t have have bothered trying to campaign on honesty and integrity. Our road to the presidency starts with a small group of voters who are Trump apologists with extreme views. Makes total sense.
Not even Gov. Kim Reynolds could convince her fellow Republicans to jump off the Trump train. Her endorsed candidate, Ron Disantis, got second, but trailed Trump by 30 points. Trump and his campaign lambasted her for picking “Ron DeSanctimonious .”
So, what now, governor?
“I’ll support Trump if he’s the nominee,” Reynolds told Neil Cavuto on Fox News.
“After all the stuff he’s said about you?” Cavuto said.
“Yeah, because we’ve got to win,” Reynolds said.
After ignoring all the lies, impeachments, indictments and a violent attempt to overturn a lawful election, it is pretty easy to blow off some name-calling. Reynolds’ skill at playing weathervane politics is legendary.
So, there was little drama expected and even less delivered. Roughly a half hour after caucuses began, the Associated Press dubbed Trump the victor. Some caucusgoers hadn’t even voted yet.
The DeSantis campaign called it “election interference.” The Republican Party of Iowa called it “highly disappointing and concerning.” The AP can report what it knows any way it wants, but it was odd to rush to report a result everyone knew was coming. Hardly a scoop.
In the end, the result we assumed would happen for months, if not years, happened. NPR did the math and found that GOP hopefuls who spent $124 million on campaign ads could have, instead, written a check to every caucusgoer for $1,124. Maybe Iowans could have used the bucks to find real comfort in someplace warm.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Boring, depressing and frozen. The Iowa caucus campaign finally ends
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 15, …
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