Iowa’s Frozen Caucus, in Photos

Fred's Shed Auto Repair and Service in Washington County, Iowa, sports a Donald Trump campaign sign.

In the final days before Monday’s Iowa Republican caucuses, the phrase that has kept running through my mind is “not too close.” Not just because former President Donald Trump is polling so far ahead of the rest of the Republican field, although that’s part of it. It’s also that in this election cycle, it seems candidates have kept more and more distance between themselves and their voters.

I’ve been covering the Iowa caucuses since 2008, and what I’ve been noticing, particularly this year, is that the circus show of Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls sprinting from county to county, taking a moment at cafes, buffets and kitchen tables… that up-close access that Iowans have known for decades, it’s dwindled. The Democrats jumped ship after 2020. The Republicans are still coming, but Trump’s massive lead has sapped a lot of energy.

The race started last spring, with events taking place in empty farm fields that grew knee-high, then head-high, and eventually back to empty after the fall harvest. Throughout the year, campaign events have seemed smaller and more lackluster. There are even fewer lawn signs than in previous cycles and nearly all the ones you see are for Trump. And in recent weeks, there’s been the snow… lots and lots of it, which seems to have quieted the whole state.

The bottom line is that Iowa doesn’t seem all that engaged this year. While the final GOP debate was being broadcast Wednesday night on CNN, I drove to the small town of Mitchellville to see what they were watching at the local bar. It was college basketball on all five TVs. Not one was turned to the Nikki Haley vs. Ron DeSantis debate or even to the rival town hall with Trump on Fox.

Maybe the lack of television attention is because Iowans seem to have made up their minds months ago. Maybe voters in the Hawkeye State expect the in-person campaigning of times past and have checked out. Or, maybe, the years of politicians and pundits yelling at each other on cable news have just worn everyone out.

Here’s what this year’s Iowa caucuses have looked like to me.

A couple selects songs on a jukebox at Tavern 36 in Mitchellville, Iowa, the same night Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis would debate on CNN and Donald Trump would hold a town hall with Fox.

A series of political ads air on the eastern Iowa network after the 10 p.m. local nightly news.

Haley heads into the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 in second place behind Trump, the former president.

Campaign staffers break down an event after Haley spoke to a small crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 11, 2024.

Outside the CNN Republican presidential debate on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, Iowa, campaign signs and satellite trucks line streets.

A political ad on eastern Iowa networks after the 10 p.m. nightly news highlights Trump's legal troubles.

Ramaswamy speaks to people wearing pro-Trump hats after a rally at the Iowa State Capitol.

The snowstorm on Jan. 9 blanketed Iowa and much of the Midwest, starting multiple days of snow accumulation and extreme cold temperatures.

Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum speaks during U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' Triple MMM Tailgate fundraiser in Coralville, Iowa.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra’s family picnic fundraiser in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Ramaswamy’s campaign bus parks outside a house party and fundraiser for multiple candidates hosted by Bruce Rastetter, the founder and CEO of Summit Agricultural Group.

Ramaswamy and PBS "Firing Line" host Margaret Hoover before taping an episode of the political talk show.

Haley listens to rival candidate Ramaswamy speak at the U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks Triple MMM Tailgate fundraiser.

A Trump and Pence 2020 campaign sign is hung up in Kalona, Iowa.

The storm shutdown the state including most political events of the Iowa caucuses.