Arctic conditions led to the lowest voter turnout in decades for the Iowa Republican caucus on Monday night, with slightly more than 110,000 voters casting ballots for their preferred candidate, according to the state GOP.
Temperatures across the Hawkeye State hovered between a high of 1 degree Fahrenheit and a low of minus 8 — with strong winds making it feel like 25 below, according to the National Weather Service and Fox Weather.
Less than 19% of the state’s active Republican voters — more than 594,000 of them, according to the Iowa secretary of state’s office — made it through the caucus freeze in 1,657 precinct locations.
But voters still turned out in higher numbers than in 2000, when about 86,000 Iowa Republicans cast ballots in temperatures that hit a low of 5 degrees to hand then-Texas Governor George W. Bush victory in the GOP primary contest.
Bush went on to clinch the Republican Party nomination that year, becoming one of three contested Iowa caucus winners to do so, along with President Gerald Ford in 1976 and Kansas Senator Bob Dole in 1996.
Subzero temperatures at the Iowa Republican caucuses on Monday night produced the lowest voter turnout in decades, with slightly more than 110,000 voters casting ballots for their preferred candidates. AP The first state race was the coldest of any GOP primary in the 21st century, as temperatures hovered between 1 and -8 degrees on caucus day. AP
The 2024 Iowa caucus also had a few thousand more Republicans in attendance than in 1996, 1988 and 1980 — even though turnout in those years was drawn from a slightly smaller state population.
Monday’s Republican turnout fell short of the record set in 2016, when nearly 187,000 people turned out to hand a narrow victory to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who later lost the nomination to President-elect Donald Trump.
More than 121,000 voted in the Iowa Republican caucus in 2012, and about 118,000 voted in 2008.
Only 14% of the state’s Republican electorate — about 752,000 registered voters, according to the Iowa secretary of state’s office — braved the freezing climate to the caucuses. Reuters
The Iowa Republican caucus was not held during Bush’s 2004 presidential re-election campaign, and Trump won all but one delegate in the Hawkeye State in 2020, with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld holding the remainder before suspending his campaign the following month.
On Monday, media outlets called the Iowa race for Trump just 30 minutes after the caucus meeting began. The former president went on to win with 51.0% support, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21.2%.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley won 19.1% of the GOP vote, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy won 7.7% before suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump.
Voters turned out in higher numbers than in 2000, when 86,000 Iowa Republicans cast ballots in temperatures around 5 degrees to give then-Texas Governor George W. Bush a victory. AFP via Getty Images GOP voters had their highest turnout in a century during the 2016 Iowa caucuses, with nearly 187,000 giving a first-place victory to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who later lost the nomination. AP
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie suspended his own campaign last week, but has not announced an endorsement of one of the remaining candidates — even though data shows his voters will turn to Haley.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who received only 191 votes, was dropped Tuesday morning after the results were announced.
Texas pastor and businessman Ryan Binkley earned 774 votes, but has yet to suspend his campaign.
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