Iowa

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump doubled his voting base in Iowa. Here’s who voted for him

      by

      Iowa Republicans showed up on 15 January in force for Donald Trump, voting overwhelmingly in the nation’s first primary for the former president, whose grip on his party has only deepened as he weathers numerous lawsuits and 91 felony charges relating to his business dealings and involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The Iowa caucuses confirmed polls that have consistently shown Trump carrying a comfortable lead ahead of the remaining Republican challengers.Before the caucuses, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, repeatedly reminded voters and the press that he had toured all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Trump won 98 of them. With the exception of college graduates and voters under 30, who for the most part caucused for DeSantis or the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, most other demographic groups reported strong support for Trump this year.Even young Republican voters favored Trump slightly more strongly this year than in the 2016 Iowa caucuses: CNN entrance polls showed a modest 3% jump in caucus-goers under 30 who support Trump, while his share of supporters over the age of 30 nearly doubled across the board.Since 2016, Trump has consolidated support among evangelical Christian voters, a key block in Iowa. Just over 20% of Trump’s Iowa supporters in 2016 self-reported as evangelicals or born-again Christians; evangelicals made up 53% of his supporters in 2024 Iowa polling.Support for Trump among evangelical Christians can be chalked up to “transactional politics” said Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right.Their support may be puzzling on the surface – Trump, a philandering and corrupt adulterer twice divorced who is not particularly religious, would seem an unlikely candidate for wide support from the devout. But behind the scenes, leaders in the evangelical movement, including influential members of the Southern Baptist church, struck a deal with Trump in 2016. In exchange for the support and endorsements of church leaders, Trump would afford evangelicals institutional power in his administration. Through an evangelical advisory board, they would help set social policy and do whatever they could to end the legal right to abortion.Leaders in the church, in exchange, crafted a message that would make Trump more palatable to members.To evangelicals, “Trump was not a man of God,” said Nelson. “He was an instrument of God, like King Cyrus, the Persian king in the Bible.”The bargain held: Trump won the support of evangelical voters and then delivered to them a supreme court that overturned Roe v Wade, erasing nearly 50 years of legal precedent that guaranteed the right to abortion.And despite political divisions among prominent pastors in Iowa, support for Trump among evangelical voters increased this year.The Iowa primary may be a reasonable bellwether for evangelical support for him – and as far as it served as a litmus test for Republican party polling, the polling held up. But Iowa’s primary is atypical.Iowa is more racially homogeneous than the rest of the US – more than 85% of Iowans identify as white, and Black people make up only about 4% of the population, compared with the national average of 71% and 12%. While Black men across the US have increasingly reported supporting Trump in polling, there were so few non-white Republican caucus-goers that entrance polling did not register them as a statistically significant bloc.The Republican caucuses are also party meetings, requiring party membership to participate and consisting of an exclusively in-person vote.The time commitment, the fact that caucuses also involve Republican party business, and even the extreme cold in Iowa this week probably affected turnout, which was estimated at 110,000 voters, significantly lower than 2016.“The proportion of rank-and-file Republicans who are going to participate in the caucuses would be fewer than in a typical primary,” said Barbara Trish, a professor of political science at Grinnell College in Iowa.“The smaller the core of participants, the more likely they are to be more ideologically extreme, or more, on average, experienced and active in the party.”The next stop to test the strength and growth of Trump’s base is New Hampshire, which is also demographically less diverse than most of the country and thus not representative of what the US election as a whole will look like. Even so, Trump is predicted to win the state, further cement his monopoly of the party, and box out those who threaten it. More

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Trump Won 98 of Iowa’s 99 Counties, as Haley Prevented a Shutout

      by

      Former President Donald J. Trump won 98 of 99 counties in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, according to preliminary results published by the state Republican Party, demonstrating just how broadly he swept the first-in-the-nation contest.In counties large and small, Mr. Trump racked up commanding leads across the state. In the only county he lost, it was by a single vote: Johnson County, the state’s bluest county and the home of Iowa City and the University of Iowa, went for former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina.Shut out from a single victory was Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who had banked his candidacy on Iowa and put enormous effort into campaigning in rural, sparsely populated areas. He visited every one of Iowa’s 99 counties in the months before the caucuses, a tour known as the “Full Grassley,” and was rewarded on Monday with second- and third-place finishes from Sioux City to Davenport.Vivek Ramaswamy, the pro-Trump entrepreneur who dropped out on Monday after receiving just 7 percent of the vote in Iowa, had visited all 99 counties at least twice, a strategy that did not deliver the surprise performance he had been brashly predicting for months.Mr. Trump in contrast had put far less effort into circuiting the state and indulging in the kind of retail politics that Iowa campaigning is known for. He also had surrogates do much of the campaigning for him until the final week before the caucuses.After battling fiercely for second place in the race’s final weeks, Ms. Haley finished third overall in Iowa on Monday night. Her lone bright spot, albeit narrowly, was Johnson County. In his 2020 re-election campaign, Mr. Trump lost the county with just 27 percent of the vote, to over 70 percent for Joseph R. Biden Jr.Ms. Haley had been expected to do better in more populous urban and suburban areas — much like Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who eight years ago won significant margins in the counties of Des Moines, its suburbs and Iowa City, as he, too, came in third place.But turnout fell sharply across the state this year, the lowest since the Republican caucuses in 2000, and urban counties lost thousands of votes. In the end, Ms. Haley fell far short in Iowa’s largest cities, losing by wide margins to Mr. Trump — and sometimes behind Mr. DeSantis — in the counties that include Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City. More

    • 113 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Trump Left Iowa With Momentum and a Court Date

      by

      Also, the U.S. struck Houthi targets for a third time. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.The Iowa caucuses could hardly have gone better for Donald Trump. The former president won the first presidential nominating contest by 30 percentage points — more than double the record in the state’s competitive Republican races. His dominance codified, yet again, his double-fisted hold on the Republican electorate.Now the race moves on to New Hampshire, where next week’s primary is perhaps the last clear chance for one of Trump’s rivals to slow him. Nikki Haley has banked on independents there, and one poll this month showed her at 32 percent, just seven points behind Trump. But her third-place showing in Iowa suggested that Ron DeSantis would continue challenging her, despite lacking a clear path forward.“If you have two serious opponents running against him, there’s virtually no chance of beating him for the nomination,” my colleague Shane Goldmacher said, adding that yesterday’s result was “basically exactly what the Trump campaign would have hoped for.”All three leading candidates have events tonight in New Hampshire. But first, Trump stopped in Manhattan for the opening day of a trial in a suit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of defaming her after she accused him of rape. His decision to appear, under no obligation, reflected his effort to use the legal threats against him to energize his supporters.Houthi fighters held a rally near Sana, Yemen, on Sunday against strikes by the U.S. and Britain.Associated PressThe U.S. struck Houthi targets for a third timeU.S. forces carried out a strike today against Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles in Yemen, according to military officials. It was the third attack against the Iran-backed rebel group since a U.S.-led air and naval barrage that hit dozens of targets last week.The strikes, which targeted four missiles that were being prepared to be fired, came after the Houthis launched a new round of attacks in critical shipping lanes. The group attempted to hit an American warship on Sunday, damaged a U.S.-owned commercial ship yesterday and hit a Greek bulk carrier today. Houthi leaders have said they will continue their attacks until Israel withdraws from Gaza.In Gaza, Qatar said Israel and Hamas had reached a deal to allow additional aid into Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medication to Israeli hostages.Also, Israel has been surprised by the extent and quality of the tunnel network beneath Gaza. They now believe there are far more than they once thought: between 350 and 450 miles of tunnels.Supporters of extending the child tax credit in 2022.Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesLawmakers struck a bipartisan tax dealTop Democrats and Republicans in Congress announced today that they had reached a $78 billion compromise to partly extend a major pandemic expansion of the child tax credit, which cut child poverty rates nearly in half in 2021, and restore three popular expired business tax breaks. The deal would be financed by reining in the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit.Yet the rare bipartisan agreement, spanning both chambers, still faces steep obstacles in a Congress laboring to tackle the basic work of funding the government. Some House Democrats have argued that the legislation should do more to expand the child tax credit, while several Senate Republicans have voiced resistance.A courtyard in Fort Worth, yesterday. Desiree Rios for The New York TimesIt’s cold in the Deep SouthA blast of Arctic air reached into the Deep South today, breaking low-temperature records, while the Midwest and the Great Plains faced dangerous below-zero wind chill temperatures. Even New York received its first significant snowfall in almost two years.Another Arctic blast is expected to begin by the end of the week. See what you are in for, and follow these steps to protect yourself and your home.More top newsBusiness: A judge blocked JetBlue’s $3.8 billion proposal to buy Spirit Airlines, agreeing with the Justice Dept. that the merger would hurt competition.Courts: A lawsuit claimed that James Dolan, the mogul behind Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks, pressured a woman into unwanted sex.Tech: Elon Musk demanded that Tesla’s board give him shares worth more than $80 billion if it wants him to work on artificial intelligence.Nigeria: Shell said that it had agreed to sell its onshore oil and gas business to a group dominated by local companies for $1.3 billion.New York: The suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings was charged with a fourth murder.Supreme Court: Oral arguments are set for tomorrow in a potentially major case that is backed by the billionaire Charles Koch.Business: The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting kicked off in Davos.Finance: Goldman Sachs earned $2 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.Health: Diabetes is fueling a rise in amputations in San Antonio.Pets: A dog from Portugal was honored as the world’s oldest. Now his age is being investigated.Sports: A Welsh rugby star said he is stepping away from the sport to pursue a career in the N.F.L.TIME TO UNWINDJesse Armstrong, the creator of “Succession,” right foreground, accepted the Emmy Award for best drama.Mario Anzuoni/ReutersThe Emmys may have been a send-off for Peak TVLast night’s Emmy Awards, which were dominated by the likes of “Succession” and “The Bear,” felt a touch more nostalgic than most award shows. One reason was the strike-related delays that left several 2022 shows up for honors. Another reason, my colleague John Koblin wrote, is that they felt like a goodbye to the so-called Peak TV era.The days in which streaming services offer an almost endless supply of new programming seem to be coming to an end, John wrote. Luckily, many of the top-quality shows are sticking around.Best dressed? Pick out your favorite outfit from the award show.Keith NegleyLearning a language may help stave off dementiaResearch suggests that speaking multiple languages can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by up to five years. Having to inhibit your mother tongue, in theory, makes the brain more resilient to the impairments caused by diseases like dementia.It’s not clear whether casually following a language app confers the same cognitive advantage. But the regularity with which you use the second language appears to be more important than when you learn it.Sabato De Sarno introduced his first Gucci collection for men.Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDinner table topicsGucci’s reboot: The label’s new creative director ditched his predecessor’s pussy bows and brought back some old-school cool.The Ozempic age: The food industry has long marketed its products as impossible to resist. Has that lost its selling power?Text bubbles: Group chats have quietly become the de facto spaces for everything: sharing dumb jokes, grieving or even planning for an insurrection.A reader asked: How much water do I really need to drink every day?WHAT TO DO TONIGHTLinda Xiao for The New York TimesCook: This pimento cheese pie will become a fast favorite for parties.Watch: The season finale of “Fargo” is tonight. Here’s what else is on TV this week.Read: Kyle Chayka’s new book considers how technology has narrowed our choices.Listen: Check out Ariana Grande’s new track, and nine more songs worth listening to.Nourish: We have tips for making sure you eat enough fruits and vegetables.Replace: If you have any of these 17 household items, it might be time for a new one.Compete: Take this week’s Flashback history quiz.Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.ONE LAST THINGThe Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo in 2014.Noritaka Minami, via SFMOMAA second life for an architectural marvelIt’s been 50 years since the Nakagin Capsule Tower was erected in Tokyo. Back then, it looked like something out of a science-fiction film: a futuristic tower composed of 140 detachable, single-resident capsules with porthole windows, like a pile of eyes fixed on the city.Now it’s gone. After years of neglect, the pods were pulled down one by one in 2022. Only 23 of them could be salvaged. But those orphaned puzzle pieces are embarking on another life across Japan and the world as art spaces, museum pieces and even holiday accommodations.Have an enduring evening.Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — MatthewWe welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. More

    • 238 Shares139 Views

      in US Politics

      With the fake drama of the Iowa caucuses over, we can focus on Trump’s real dangers | Osita Nwanevu

      by

      There were no surprises out of Iowa. Donald Trump had led the state’s polls by about 30 points and current tallies suggest that he’s won by about that much.The voters who braved the bitter cold to officially kick off the Republican primary were, plainly, exactly the ones the former president needed and wanted – ABC’s entrance polls registered immigration and the economy as their top issues and additionally found that 63% of caucus-goers would consider Trump fit for the presidency even if he were convicted of a crime. All of this was predictable; all of it suggests that the time and energy the candidates and the media alike have spent hyping up this first contest ⁠– and perhaps this primary campaign as a whole ⁠– have been mostly wasted.There was a bit of manufactured drama over the question of whether Trump would win the caucuses by at least 50%, in keeping with his standing in the pre-caucus polls – a metric Haley took a particular interest in given that Trump’s “underperformance” on that score might narratively lay the groundwork for a potential upset in New Hampshire.But it’s been widely forgotten that Trump actually lost Iowa back in 2016 as a much weaker candidate before going on to take the nomination. He’s doing well enough in the national polls ⁠– with the support of more than 60% of the Republican electorate ⁠– that losing New Hampshire won’t be fatal for him and losing Iowa altogether likely wouldn’t have been either.If it was ever in the cards, Trump’s defeat in the primaries was never going to be a matter of dominoes tipping away after a crucial loss ⁠– without a campaign and a message that can capture a meaningful share of the voters Trump has held in thrall since taking the presidency nearly eight years ago, his opponents were never going to succeed. And right now they appear no closer to hitting upon the right approach.Ron DeSantis, who needed a respectable finish in Iowa and seems to have edged Haley out for second place at time of writing, has been grasping for one even more desperately than usual in recent days. With the grim resignation of a man with nothing left to lose, he even tried telling the truth. On Friday, he called out Fox News and the rest of the conservative press for protecting Trump and denouncing his critics; he followed this up on Sunday with an uncharacteristically pointed critique of Trump’s narcissism.“You can be the strongest, most dynamic, successful Republican and conservative in America, but [if] you don’t kiss that ring, then he’ll try to trash you,” DeSantis told a crowd on Sunday. “You deserve a nominee that’s going to put you first, not himself.”There’s been some talk about whether airing these critiques of Trump earlier on might have boosted DeSantis’s candidacy, but the actual course of the primary suggests DeSantis would have wound up in the Republican party’s marginalized anti-Trump minority with Nikki Haley, at best, or found himself an also-ran like Chris Christie at worst. Trying to be all things to all the party’s constituencies at once seems to have worked out better for him, but not well enough to put a real dent in Trump’s standing.As such, Trump is still on a glide path to the nomination; as the press absorbs that fact, we might finally see more sustained attention to what he’s been saying and promising to voters. His recent comments about immigrants “poisoning the blood of the country” and Washington DC have raised some of the old alarms, though reporting on the ground suggests this rhetoric isn’t lighting the same fires among Trump supporters that it used to.“He relies on a shorthand legible only to his most dedicated followers, and his tendency to get lost in rhetorical cul-de-sacs of self-pity and anger wears thin,” the Atlantic’s McKay Coppins recently observed in a piece on his latest rallies. “This doesn’t necessarily make him less dangerous. There is a rote quality now to his darkest rhetoric that I found more unnerving than when it used to command wall-to-wall news coverage.”His rhetoric may well command that kind of attention again soon, but the incentives that drove eyes away from Trump will be in play for a little while longer as these early races continue. The political press thrives on uncertainty and will create some uncertainty where none really exists; there remains too, among Trump’s Republican critics and political reporters alike, a drive to convince the country and themselves that the conservative movement is, even now, more than a cult of personality.And it is, really: Trump is the product of currents on the right that long preceded him and will live on after he leaves the political stage, whenever that might be. He’s simply channeled them far more effectively than his challengers ⁠– so much more so that he remains the party’s likely nominee.
      Osita Nwanevu is a Guardian US columnist More

    • 100 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      A Road Trip to Iowa for the Caucuses

      by

      Suri Botuck was eager to hear Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida deliver his closing pitch to Iowans on Sunday in Cedar Rapids — but she didn’t caucus for him on Monday night. Nor is she even from Iowa.Ms. Botuck, 40, and her husband, Jacob Botuck, 42, hail from St. Louis, about 250 miles to the south. With five of their six children in tow, they piled into the family’s 2009 Toyota Sienna at first light on Sunday morning to participate in what she called “caucus tourism,” a tradition her family began during the Democratic primary race four years ago.In 2020, the family attended events for Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg and Donald J. Trump. Every stop was meticulously documented in a photo book she brings on their travels.The Botuck family’s photo book. Jenna Fowler/The New York TimesWhy, exactly, do the Botucks travel so far — and in such great numbers — to see a few stump speeches?Ms. Botuck said she viewed the trips as more than just family outings. They are a chance to engage with the political process up close. “My hope is that my kids will know they always have to vote,” she said.This year, the Botucks were joined by Ms. Botuck’s sister, Rivka Friedman, 34, her husband and her five children.“As much as politics can be fun, it’s also important to us because these things impact everything,” Ms. Botuck said, adding that she found the campaign events in Iowa to be “really family friendly.”On Monday, the Botucks went to see Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the wealthy entrepreneur, who dropped out of the race later that evening following Mr. Trump’s decisive victory.Ms. Botuck said she had voted for Mr. Trump in the last go-round. “I like my low taxes, I like my peace in Israel, I like my school choice,” she said.Her husband, whom she described as “more of a libertarian,” cast a symbolic write-in vote for the American economist and statistician Milton Friedman, who died nearly two decades ago.While Ms. Botuck hasn’t decided whom she will vote for in Missouri’s primary, she said Mr. DeSantis was a strong contender. The Florida governor, she said, “has a very good spine and doesn’t care what people think.”She also said she liked the prospect of Mr. DeSantis as Mr. Trump’s running mate, something the governor has ruled out. “I’d love to see a joint ticket,” she said.After Mr. Trump’s first-place finish, the Botucks were headed to the DeSantis party. When asked about the former president’s win, Ms. Botuck said of the DeSantis campaign, “I’m sure they really were prepared for that.” More

    • 88 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      Trump Wins Iowa, and Iceland’s Volcanic Eruption

      by

      The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times journalists who are covering them, all in about five minutes.Former President Donald J. Trump’s sweep of the Iowa caucuses was broad and deep.Doug Mills/The New York TimesOn Today’s Episode:5 Takeaways From Trump’s Runaway Victory in the Iowa Caucuses, by Lisa Lerer, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan SwanWhat to Know as Trump Faces Another Defamation Trial by E. Jean Carroll, by Benjamin Weiser and Maggie Haberman, with Maria CramerSenate to Vote on Potential Freeze to Israel Aid as Democrats Question Conduct of War, by Karoun DemirjianU.S. Defense Secretary Is Released From the Hospital After 2 Weeks, by Eric SchmittIceland Faces ‘New Chapter’ of Seismic Activity as Lava Menaces Town, by Egill Bjarnason and Emma Bubola75th Emmy Awards Ceremony: ‘Succession’ Wins Emmy for Best Drama and ‘The Bear’ Best Comedy, by John KoblinJessica Metzger and More

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      Trump’s Domination and the Battle for No. 2 in Iowa

      by

      Mary Wilson, Clare Toeniskoetter and Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicAt the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night, Donald J. Trump secured a runaway victory. The only real drama was the fight for second place.Reid Epstein, who covers politics for The Times, takes us inside one of the caucuses, and Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter, walks us through the final results.On today’s episodeReid J. Epstein, a politics correspondent for The New York Times.Shane Goldmacher, a national political reporter for The New York Times.Ron DeSantis speaking in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. Despite an expensive canvassing and voter-turnout operation, he returned a lackluster result.Jordan Gale for The New York TimesBackground readingA letdown for Ron DeSantis: His campaign is running low on cash and faces tough tests ahead.Why coming in second can be a win in early-state contests.Here are five takeaways from Trump’s crushing victory.There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.Reid J. Epstein More

    • 175 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Trump wins in Iowa as Republican contest kicks off 2024 presidential race – video

      by

      Donald Trump won the US’s first election contest of 2024, easily fending off a field of Republicans who failed to gain traction against the former US president. The result for Trump was called quickly, while the battle for second place took much longer, with Ron DeSantis edging out Nikki Haley in an upset. Vivek Ramaswamy led the lesser-known pack of contenders, before he dropped out of the Republican nomination race and endorsed Trump More