As part of their last-ditch efforts to persuade Iowa voters to back their presidential bids, Republican candidates scattered their most high-profile allies across the Hawkeye State to speak on their behalf.
But those efforts were largely unnecessary after the race was called for former President Donald Trump just a half-hour after the caucuses began on Monday evening and before many surrogates could even offer their nominating speeches.
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Voters gathered at their local precincts at 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EST) for the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Shortly after the caucuses begin, voters listen to last-minute speeches by presidential candidates and their surrogates before casting ballots for their preferred nominee.
CNN, at a large caucus site half an hour after the corporate media called the race:
“They’re still listening to the speeches [in Clive, Iowa]” and haven’t yet voted. pic.twitter.com/sKPRpcdb3f
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) January 16, 2024
Caucuses are distinct from typical presidential primaries in several ways, but candidate speeches give the event a final persuasive element just moments before voters cast their ballots. However, several surrogates saw their moment to shine snuffed out after the race was called just 30 minutes after polling locations opened and before some of them had finished their speeches.
Some precinct locations also posed awkward and tense interactions as representatives for different campaigns gathered at the same locations. In one instance, the former president’s son Donald Trump Jr. criticized Nikki Haley’s campaign just moments after she exited the stage.
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“There’s a reason why guys like Reid Hoffman … are donating to Hillary Clinton or Nikki Haley, which is basically the same thing,” Trump Jr. said. “It’s Hillary Clinton dressing up as a conservative for Halloween.”