Early returns indicate low turnout in Iowa
One of the big questions Monday was how many people would be willing to brave what has become the coldest caucus day in Iowa history to support their favorite candidate.
So far, almost all precincts where voting has been completed indicate fairly low turnout for this year's caucuses — roughly between 100,000 and 120,000.
That would represent a significant cut from the 187,000 Republican caucusgoers who voted in 2016, which was a record-high turnout.
A full picture of turnout won't be known until the full results are released by the Republican Party of Iowa. Of course, the first districts to report their results could also be those with low turnout.
Indeed, Iowans had overcome icy winds and snowy roads at some locations to make a strong showing on their grounds, with organizers scrambling for extra seats, looking for ways to free up extra space and scrambling to seeking additional registration forms for first-time caucusgoers.
In Sioux Center, a city in northwest Iowa with about 8,400 residents, the wind chill fell to 31 degrees below freezing. But the caucus location, an event center with three separate precincts, was filled with about 400 voters. Some stayed standing.
In several other districts, turnout appeared much lower than expected.
Dan Hess, district chairman and site director at Franklin Middle School in Cedar Rapids, said he expected “a pretty low turnout,” citing the bad weather. In 2016, there were 225 caucusgoers in his district. By today's scheduled start time, only about 50 were at the caucus location, which is home to two precincts.
Amy Guidry, the precinct chair, said 280 people had pledged to attend the caucus in Ankeny, in suburban Des Moines. But at the start of the caucus, only about 100 people were gathered in the main Ankeny High School gym.
Some campaigns had previously prepared for a huge record turnout of more than 200,000. But a brutal snowstorm and continued severe weather conditions have turned that forecast on its head. One weather forecast predicted wind chills could reach minus 40 degrees in northwest Iowa and minus 30 degrees near Des Moines.
The National Weather Service office in Des Moines reported that the highest temperature was recorded on Monday barely rose above freezing to 1 degree, about 15 degrees colder than the previous coldest caucus day in 1972.
Reporting was contributed by Cindy Hadish, Maya King, Kellen Browning And Anna Klein.