January 8 – 2024 campaign updates

One young Iowa voter came away impressed on Monday with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after he answered a question about his stance on abortion.

As a result, Colton Ott, 25, said he now views the race as “50-50” between Ramaswamy and former President Donald Trump. 

Ott, who heard Ramaswamy speak in person for the first time at the town hall hosted at a Pizza Ranch in Orange City, said he was initially leaning toward caucusing for Trump next week before the event. But after asking Ramaswamy about abortion, Ott said his focus on “morality and values” made him much more likely to caucus for Ramaswamy. 

Ott, from Sioux Center, Iowa, asked Ramaswamy about his plan to make sure “abortion isn’t propagated throughout our nation,” and listened intently as Ramaswamy detailed his pro-life stance and expanded on his Hindu faith.

The candidate also outlined his proposal to expand childcare access, increase the availability of crisis pregnancy centers and reiterated his support for laws that increase the burden of responsibility for childcare on fathers in custody disputes. 

Ott said the issue of abortion is “very important” to him and felt Ramaswamy answered the question well. 

Ott contrasted Ramaswamy’s answer with Trump, who he said speaks “much more vaguely” about abortion.

“I feel like it’s a weaker position,” Ott said of the former president. 

Ott, a practicing Christian, said he appreciated Ramaswamy sharing how his Hindu faith informs his worldview, and said Ramaswamy’s relationship to faith felt more authentic than Trump’s, who he said does not appear to be closely aligned with Christianity in his policy views.  

“I think it was something that for (Trump), faith was not the core of his issues,” Ott said. “I don’t think that I would call him like, ‘Oh, clearly, he’s a Christian leader.’ I wouldn’t see him as a clear Christian leader.” 

Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire on December 12, 2023.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley criticized President Joe Biden for a speech he gave on Monday at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, the 2015 place of worship where a White supremacist murdered nine Black parishioners, calling it “offensive” for him to give political remarks at a “sacred place.”

Haley’s remarks at a Fox News town hall come as Biden returned to South Carolina hoping the state – and its Black voters – can help recharge his reelection bid, similar to his White House run in 2020. Biden emphasized the significance of the Palmetto State, which he has credited with turning the tide of the 2020 primary election in his favor.

During his speech, Biden took a small jab at Haley, a former South Carolina governor, for her failing to mention slavery when initially asked by a voter about the cause of the Civil War, an omission Haley has since sought to walk back. 

Haley fired back during the town hall, calling his speech “offensive” to South Carolinians, adding she doesn’t need to be “lectured.”

Several dozen Florida lawmakers and other top Republican officials will join Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa this weekend for the final push before the caucuses, the governor’s campaign told CNN.

Most will stay in Iowa next Monday night and speak on DeSantis’ behalf at the caucuses, the campaign said.  

According to a list provided to CNN by the DeSantis campaign, they include Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.  

In all, 47 Republican leaders are committed to traveling to Iowa, though more are expected. 

The campaign did not immediately respond when asked whether the campaign is covering the cost of their travel. 

The state’s legislative session begins on Tuesday in Tallahassee, where DeSantis will deliver his annual State of the State address. There is no legislative business currently scheduled for Friday and the legislature will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

The Iowa caucuses are just one week away, and the race doesn’t seem to be close at all.

Former President Donald Trump seems to be headed for a victory never before seen in the Republican caucuses.  

If you look at all the latest polls, Trump is polling north of 50% and has an over-30-point advantage on his nearest competitors, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

No non-incumbent Republican has ever earned greater than 41% of the vote in the caucuses. No non-incumbent Republican has ever won the caucuses by more than 12 points. 

The only historic analogies that follow this script at all are on the Democratic side, and they tell very different stories. 

Al Gore secured 63% of the vote in 2000 and beat Bill Bradley by 26 points.

Gore went on to win a close victory in New Hampshire and then won every other contest the rest of the way. 

That seems like a plausible pathway for Trump right now given that he, like Gore, has a very large national polling lead.

Of course, Trump would also end up like Walter Mondale. Mondale got 48% of the vote and beat Gary Hart by over 30 points in the 1984 caucuses. 

Hart finished stronger than expected, however, and would close a double-digit gap with Mondale in New Hampshire and scored an upset there. He then used his Granite State victory to drive a close national battle with Mondale. 

Mondale won the nomination, but the Hart example is still something for DeSantis and Haley to hang their hats on. 

But either way, there is no historical precedent for someone in Trump’s position to lose the nomination. 

Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to guests during a campaign stop at a Pizza Ranch restaurant on January 7, 2024 in Independence, Iowa.

Amber Douglas wanted to ask Vivek Ramaswamy about his outreach to young voters like herself.

Douglas, a 33-year-old lifelong Iowa resident, first caucused in 2008, when she was 17, for then-Sen. Barack Obama, and voted for Democrats in every subsequent election until 2022, when she voted for Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

In this year’s caucuses, she plans to support Ramaswamy.

Yet as she asked her question on Friday to Ramaswamy, she made a biting observation about the dozens gathered here: There were more members of the media in attendance than young voters, a fact that caused her some concern.

Douglas personifies the young, independent-minded voters and first-time Republican caucusgoers Ramaswamy has been working to engage throughout the campaign.

But Douglas said she felt disheartened by her lack of peers at the event.

“I really wish that, like, there were more of me,” she said after the town hall. “It’s sad to me that there was more press in seats than young voters.”

Despite the underwhelming showing in Ames, the Ramaswamy campaign heads into the final week of campaigning ahead of the Iowa caucuses by betting they can turn out more voters like Douglas on the night of.

The campaign is investing in a full-tilt strategy to engage what it sees as its core constituency, largely made up of traditionally low-propensity voters, with targeted advertising, robust get-out-the-vote efforts along with nonstop grassroots campaigning, all in an effort to pull off what Ramaswamy predicts will be a “major surprise” on January 15.

The campaign recently pivoted its advertising strategy away from television advertising, a staple of campaigns, and is instead leaning into targeted digital advertising along with mailers and radio ads, a senior official with the Ramaswamy campaign told CNN.

Those messages are supported by a team of thousands of volunteers and paid grassroots organizers using the campaign’s voter database to call, text or knock on the door of any Iowan who has previously shown interest in Ramaswamy over the past year, the official said.

That operation is backed by significant investment from Ramaswamy himself, who often touts on the campaign trail that he’s the largest financial contributor to his own campaign.

Read more about the Ramaswamy campaign in Iowa.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a rally at McDivot's Indoor Sports Pub in Grimes, Iowa, on Sunday.

In their final pitch to Iowa voters ahead of the caucuses, the DeSantis campaign is focusing their efforts on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in a new television ad.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his campaign have seized on a comment from Haley where she said New Hampshire voters would “correct” the result from Iowa.

The ad says Haley “insults Iowans” and “disparages the caucuses.”

“It’s Ron DeSantis who embodies and defends Iowa values of faith, family and freedom. He’s tirelessly working to earn your support,” the narrator of the ad says.

Touting his completion of visiting all 99 counties in Iowa and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ endorsement, the ad also features a clip from a CNN town hall, where he said, “Donald Trump is running for his issues. Nikki Haley’s running for her donors’ issues. I’m running for your issues.”

The spot is part of the campaign’s previously announced $2 million ad buy and will air on broadcast and cable television in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport markets.

The Republican presidential candidates are all vying to take on President Joe Biden in November 2024. But first, they’re competing in the GOP primaries and caucuses, which begin in January, to emerge as the party’s nominee.

The first event of the Republican primary calendar, the Iowa caucuses, will provide an initial moment of truth for former President Donald Trump’s bid and could help Republicans tired of Trump decide which of his challengers to rally behind.

The new Democratic presidential primary calendar upends decades of tradition in which Iowa and New Hampshire were the first two states to hold nominating contests and moves up South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan. President Joe Biden has argued the new nominating order would better reflect the diversity of the nation and the Democratic Party.

Here’s a look at key dates in the primary race coming up in the first few months of the year:

January:

February:

March:

Access the full 2024 election calendar.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 8, 2024.

President Joe Biden cast the 2024 election as a battle for truth as he compared his predecessor to defeated confederate soldiers in remarks at the historic site of a deadly 2015 shooting fueled by White supremacy.

“The truth is under assault in America. As a consequence, so is our freedom, our democracy, our very country,” Biden said in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina, Monday.

Biden, who has kicked off the election year starkly framing the choice as critical to the future of democracy, used his remarks to explicitly compare former President Donald Trump and his most ardent supporters to “defeated confederates” after the Civil War.

“After the Civil War, the defeated confederates couldn’t accept the verdict of the war, they lost. So they say they embraced what is known as the lost cause, the self-serving lie that the civil war was not about slavery but about states’ rights. They call that the noble cause. That was a lie,” he said.

In contrast, Biden highlighted some of his key accomplishments: record low Black unemployment, record high Black health insurance signups, funding for HBCUs, efforts to replace lead pipes, and the appointment of diverse judicial candidates. 

Biden also detailed the events of January 6, 2021, describing a “violent mob” that was “whipped up by lies from a defeated former president.” He criticized Trump’s inaction.

“For hours, the defeated former president sat in the private dining room off of the Oval Office and did nothing. Absolutely nothing. His actions were among the worst derelictions of duty by any president in American history,” Biden said, echoing similar comments he made during a speech Friday in Pennsylvania.

Biden said “we must reject political violence in America. Always, not sometimes, always. It is never appropriate.”

He warned broadly that Trump’s movement – “the same movement” of January 6 – “Isn’t just trying to rewrite history on January 6th, they were trying to determine to erase history and your future,” he said, pointing to efforts to ban books, deny the right to vote, and “destroying diversity, equality and inclusion all across America. Harboring hate and replacing hope with anger and resentment.”

“It’s a dangerous view of America. A narrow view of America. A zero-sum view of America that says if you win I lose, if you succeed it must be I failed. If you get ahead I fall behind. May be worst of all, if I hold you down, I lift myself up,” he warned.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

President Joe Biden in a speech in South Carolina Monday rebuked former President Donald Trump’s comments about the school shooting that took place in Perry, Iowa, last week.

The president added that people should be able to leave their home, go to school, the grocery store and church without fear of gun violence.

“There is no excuse for this carnage. We have to ban assault weapons. I did it once before and I’m going come back again and do it,” Biden said.

He went on to call for the ban of high-capacity magazines and passage of universal background checks.

“It does not violate the Second Amendment. It’s common sense and it saves lives,” he said.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Mother Emanuel AME curch in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

President Joe Biden said former President Donald Trump — and his supporters who continue to peddle conspiracy theories about the 2020 election — “don’t have respect for the 81 million people who voted the other way, voted for my candidacy.”

“In their world, these Americans, including you, don’t count. That is not the real world, that is not democracy, that is not America. In America, we all count,” he said.

“Losers are taught to concede when they lose. He’s a loser,” Biden added.

Biden nodded to the significance of Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn and the Black voters of South Carolina, whom he has credited with turning the tide of the last primary election in his favor: “It’s because of this congregation and the Black community of South Carolina — and it’s not an exaggeration – and Jim Clyburn – that I stand here today as your President. And I’ve done my best to honor your trust.” 

Biden returned to his commitment to South Carolina voters as he highlighted his efforts to move up the Democratic primary calendar to make the Palmetto State the first-in-the-nation.

“You all made this possible,” he said, adding, “That’s democracy — and I’m proud to make sure to have led the effort to make sure that your voice, the South Carolina voice is heard – because now you’re first in the nation.”

“I’m keeping my commitment to you,” he said.

CNN’s Betsy Klein, Priscilla Alvarez and Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting to this post.

Protestors call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as US President Joe Biden speaks at Mother Emanuel AME church at a campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 8, 2024.

As President Joe Biden began to speak about the threat to democracy at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, he was interrupted by a group of protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

A small handful of protesters stood up and began shouting at the president.

“If you really care about the lives lost here you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine,” a protestor shouted at the president, referring to the deadly mass shooting that took place at the historic church in 2015.

A group of protesters then began chanting “ceasefire now.”

They were asked to leave, as supporters began chanting, “Four more years.” The moment underscores the divisions with the Democratic Party on the issue three months since Hamas’ attack on Israel. 

Another woman interrupted the president: “You’re an understanding person — they don’t realize that. You’re a good man,” she said. 

Biden thanked her and proceeded with his remarks.

Following the speech Biden’s campaign team said the president will “continue to listen and engage” with Democrats who disagree with the administration’s policy in Gaza.

“Of course the president is listening,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters outside the church. “He’s listening to every part of his base, it’s why he’s here and why we’re gonna continue to take this message everywhere.” 

Fulks said that Biden was “very adamant” that “even when people have disagreements with us, from a policy perspective, that we still respect their views and understand them.” 

“I think again, that is a stark contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, because in Donald Trump’s America, policy differences or differences of opinion lead to political violence, lead to him running for reelection to try to get reelected for revenge and retribution,” Fulks said. “That’s a stark contrast with him and Joe Biden.” 

The campaign will “continue to listen to and engage” with progressive voices, Fulks said, “and let them know that they have a place,” and that for Muslim Americans in particular, “this is gonna be a choice for them as well.” 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

President Joe Biden in South Carolina remembered the racially motivated mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015, where a gunman opened fire at churchgoers, killing nine.

Remember: South Carolina catapulted Joe Biden to the top of the Democratic primary in 2020, and the president has returned, hoping the state – and its Black voters – can help recharge his reelection bid.

Biden opened his remarks to the chants of “four more years” from the audience. During his speech he was interrupted by demonstrators urging for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Former first lady Michelle Obama said in a podcast interview released Monday that she’s terrified about the potential outcome of the 2024 election and listed November’s presidential contest as among the fears that keep her awake at night.

“What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama told Jay Shetty on his podcast “On Purpose.”

Obama said that she’s concerned that people have lost trust in the government.

“The fact that people think that government — eh, does it really even do anything? — and I’m like oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted. And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she said.

Her comments came as President Joe Biden begins to ramp up his reelection campaign, narrowing in on a message that Democracy is on the ballot this year.

Still, many Democrats have expressed concern that his message isn’t resonating, pointing to polls showing him in a close contest with former President Donald Trump.

In the interview, the former first lady listed a number of items that worry her, including asking: “Are people going to vote, and why aren’t people voting?” 

“Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder: where are we in this? Where are our hearts?” she said.

Later, Obama suggested there was a double standard when it came to Trump’s legal entanglements and what might happen if a similar predicament befell a Black man.

“The bars are different for people in life. That I’ve learned,” she said.

Without naming Trump, she continued: “Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black man can’t. You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience.”

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event at McDivot’s Indoor Sports Pub on January 7, 2024 in Grimes, Iowa. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed confusion over former President Donald Trump’s claim that the Civil War “could have been negotiated.”

Trump on Saturday argued that the fight to end slavery in the US was ultimately unnecessary and that Abraham Lincoln should have done more to avoid bloodshed.

“So many mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you,” Trump said at a campaign event in Newton, Iowa. “I think you could have negotiated that. All the people died. So many people died.

DeSantis told ABC in a pull-aside Sunday: “I don’t even know how to judge — I don’t even know what he’s talking about. I mean, Lincoln did what he had to do. He ended up ushering in the abolition of slavery, and he saved the union. So, I don’t know, re-litigating that doesn’t make that much sense to me.”

DeSantis went on to reaffirm that his campaign is in it for the long haul, even if he does not place first or second in Iowa.

“We’ve done it right, and we’re going to do well,” he said. He also shrugged off his positioning in the polls.

“I like to be the underdog, so I’m just letting that sit. Let people say what they want,” he added.

CNN’s Gregory Krieg and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.

CNN’s inaugural “Road to 270” electoral map shows President Joe Biden struggling to recreate his Electoral College majority from his successful 2020 run and former President Donald Trump with enough states solidly in his corner or leaning in his direction to put him in a position to win the presidency again.

This first look at a potential Biden vs. Trump rematch – and the electoral math each would need to capture 270 electoral votes – captures the dynamics at play 10 months from Election Day.

We should be very clear about what this electoral outlook is and, more importantly, what it is not. It is the first snapshot of the Electoral College landscape in what will likely prove to be another very close and extraordinarily consequential presidential election. It is not a prediction of how things will turn out in November. It’s not even a prediction of what things may look like when the parties gather for their nominating conventions this summer.

Here’s CNN’s inaugural electoral map. It will undoubtedly change as the race takes shape:

This is an exercise designed to capture where the race stands today. We base this current outlook on public and private polling, conversations with campaign advisers, Republican and Democratic political operatives, members of Congress, and political professionals involved with outside groups poised to be active in the race.

The map will undoubtedly change as the race formally takes shape and campaigns place their strategic bets on where to spend tens of millions of dollars on advertising, build organizations on the ground, and dedicate candidate and surrogate time on the trail. It will also shift as the issue set evolves for Americans over the course of the election year.

Build your own map here.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on Friday.

South Carolina catapulted Joe Biden to the top of the Democratic primary in 2020, and on Monday, the president returns hoping the state – and its Black voters – can help recharge his reelection bid.

The state’s February 3 Democratic primary is not competitive. But with many Black voters saying in polls and Democratic focus groups they feel disengaged and disenchanted with the political process, South Carolina – far from a battleground in the general election – will be the first electoral test of how deep a hole Biden is actually in.

With his campaign trailing in early polling of the general election and some even in his administration thinking he is too weak to be mounting a reelection, Biden has been trying to get the country to agree with him that the future of democracy depends on his winning. He made that argument on Friday in an impassioned speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where George Washington and his army survived a brutal winter and went on to win the Revolutionary War.

But by heading to the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, he is reaching for a very different and painful part of American history – and making a very explicit attempt to start winning back the Black support that has drifted away from him, in a place he will say has become a warning of what extremism can lead to.

Read more here.

Former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have qualified for CNN’s Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday in Iowa. The debate is a final opportunity for candidates to make an impression in front of a national audience before voting begins.

Haley and DeSantis have said they will participate in the debate, which will take place at 9 p.m. ET at Drake University in Des Moines. Trump, who holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field and has skipped the first four 2024 GOP primary debates, will participate in a Fox News town hall in Iowa on January 10.

Just days before the Iowa caucuses kick off the GOP’s nominating race, it will be a one-on-one clash between two candidates vying to emerge as the party’s lone, clear alternative to the former president.

DeSantis’ path to the GOP nomination likely depends on a strong showing in Iowa’s January 15 caucuses. Haley, meanwhile, has climbed in polls in New Hampshire, where a strong performance in the January 23 primary there could also prove as a springboard ahead of her home state’s February 24 primary.

On the campaign trail in recent days, DeSantis has repeatedly criticized Trump for refusing to participate in GOP primary debates.

“He’s not been willing to come here and answer questions,” DeSantis told reporters last week in Elkader, Iowa. “He parachutes in for 30, 45-minute, hour speech and then just leaves, rather than listening to Iowans answering questions and doing, I think, what it takes to win.”

CNN’s Iowa debate will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

To qualify for participation in the Iowa debate, candidates must receive at least 10% in three separate national and/or Iowa polls of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters that meet CNN’s standards for reporting, according to the network. One of the three polls must be an approved CNN poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers. The qualifying window for polls to count toward the Iowa debate closed at noon Tuesday.

Three current candidates who have appeared on stage in some previous debates — entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — did not meet those qualification requirements.

CNN will hold a second debate on January 21 in New Hampshire at New England College, ahead of that state’s primary. The location was originally announced as St. Anselm College.

CNN’s Kit Maher contributed reporting to this post.

Former President Donald Trump boards his private airplane, also known as Trump Force One, as he departs Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after being booked at the Fulton County jail on August 24, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump’s legal challenges continue to loom over his 2024 campaign ahead of Monday’s key Iowa caucuses.

Trump is seeking to have the sweeping criminal conspiracy case against him in Georgia thrown out by arguing he is protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.

Trump’s immunity claims in the Georgia case, filed on Monday as part of a motion to dismiss state-level criminal charges against the former president, are similar to those argued by his defense team in the federal election subversion case.

Monday’s filing in the Georgia case reiterates what the former president’s lawyers have repeatedly asserted – that Trump was working in his official capacity as president when he allegedly undermined the 2020 election results and therefore has immunity.

As such, they argue Trump’s indictment in both the Georgia and federal case are unconstitutional because presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for “official acts” unless they are impeached and convicted by the Senate.

Remember: Trump faces 91 criminal charges across four indictments, including in the Georgia and federal election subversion cases. Trump has denied any wrongdoing or criminality in all matters, state and federal, and he has aggressively maintained his innocence. 

In 2008, Nikki Haley was a woman on the rise.

She was a two-term South Carolina state representative and a Republican majority whip, and she was considering running to chair an influential committee. Then, after her fellow lawmakers voted to grant themselves raises by voice vote, she became the face of an unpopular — but ultimately successful — push to mandate roll call votes for key issues.

For her legislative career, it was a death blow. She lost her leadership position, was demoted to a new committee and was shunned by fellow lawmakers.

After she won, one of the first bills she signed cemented on-the-record voting. Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” played over the Statehouse loudspeakers.

The story is a staple of her stump speech. As her rivals seek to paint her as a moderate, a flip-flopper or an establishment figure beholden to donors, Haley has drawn from her time in South Carolina to portray herself as someone with a tea party background who speaks “hard truths” and takes on tough fights — and who often wins.

But as Haley’s political star has risen, her record in South Carolina has received more attention. Her response to a question about the origins of the Civil War brought up her history of trying to navigate race relations and satisfy both sides of the Confederate flag debate.

Detractors — from former allies to primary opponents — have argued that she strayed from her tea party roots over the course of her governorship and have latched onto her past comments on the state gas tax, transgender bathroom bills, and recruiting businesses and jobs with taxpayer-funded incentives. Democrats have criticized her refusal to expand Medicaid access in the state.

And critics are quick to note that many South Carolina officials and donors — including some former Haley allies — have backed former President Donald Trump ahead of the state’s February 24 presidential primary.

Read more here.

Ballots are counted following the Republican party caucus in precinct 317 at Valley Church on February 1, 2016 in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The first test of the 2024 presidential election hits January 15, when Iowa Republicans gather to caucus in high school gyms, community buildings and churches.

The first event of the party primary calendar for the past half century, the caucuses will provide an initial moment of truth for former President Donald Trump’s comeback bid and could help Republicans tired of Trump decide which of his challengers to rally behind.

What is a caucus? Caucuses are not primaries. Primary elections are conducted like other US elections – at polling places and by secret ballot, held throughout the day and usually also with absentee and early voting.

Caucuses are something else. They are essentially meetings run by political parties, convened at a specific time – 7 p.m. CT in Iowa. Since it isn’t a traditional election, a candidate’s performance in Iowa is often viewed as a test of his or her campaign’s organizational strength.

How are votes cast at a caucus? For Republicans, surrogates for candidates give final pitches after the caucuses get underway and then paper ballots are distributed to caucusgoers. They’re counted on-site, and the results are shared with the party.

Does the winner in Iowa usually win the White House? In an open year, when there’s no incumbent running for a party’s nomination, Iowa has a spotty record at picking the president, particularly for Republicans.

Only one Republican, George W. Bush in 2000, won a contested Iowa face-off and then went on to win the White House.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and went on to win the White House. Jimmy Carter was the top Democrat in 1976, but he placed second to a slate of “uncommitted” delegates. Still, the momentum propelled him to the party nomination and ultimately the White House.

Some notable losses include when the Republican Ronald Reagan placed second in 1980 to George H.W. Bush, who ultimately became his running mate. Reagan, interestingly, had won the Iowa caucuses in 1976, although then-President Gerald Ford won the GOP nomination and subsequently lost the White House.

The elder Bush, despite winning the caucuses in 1980, lost them in 1988 to then-Sen. Bob Dole even though Bush was running as the sitting vice president. Bush went on to secure the GOP nomination.

And Trump, although he’s the favorite in pre-caucus polling this year, lost the Iowa caucuses in 2016 to Cruz.

Read more about the Iowa caucuses here.