Iowa deep freeze wreaks more caucus havoc as Republican congresswoman is in car accident on way to Nikki Haley’s event

The frigid weather in Iowa forced another last-minute change to Nikki Haley’s campaign schedule on Saturday, when the congresswoman scheduled to introduce her was rear-ended as she drove to the event.

Haley showed up in Iowa City, where the temperature was 6F, but the wind chill made it feel like -15F.

Rep. Ashley Hinson, from a neighboring district, stepped in at the last minute to open the program instead of Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

She explained that her colleague “was rear-ended by a truck on the way here.”

Afterwards, she told DailyMail.com that she spoke to Miller-Meeks, who was unharmed.

“I think she was slowing down because of another accident the State Patrol was working on when the semi hit her from behind,” she said.

“So she interrupted her duties for the day. But physically she is fine.’

Haley received a warm welcome from the 60 or so people packed into the James Theater in Iowa City.

Attendees were greeted by a snowman just outside the venue.

A polar vortex is funneling cold air down from the North Pole, dumping a foot of snow over Iowa.

It came just three days after another snowstorm shut down the state.

The circumstances cast doubt on Monday’s caucuses, when the state’s Republicans become the first in the country to choose their preferred 2024 candidate.

The harsh weather will test Iowans’ commitment to getting out and supporting their favorite.

Hinson said Iowans were used to cold weather, but not two storms so close together.

It certainly presented quite a challenge for the road crews as they were still digging when the first storm of the second hit.

“Iowans aren’t afraid of a little cold, but I definitely encourage everyone to just be safe.”

The icy weather forced all campaigns to adjust their plans for the final push. On Friday, Haley canceled in-person events in favor of tele-rallies, and DeSantis thinned out his schedule for both days.

On Saturday, he addressed former President Donald Trump, saying his rival “called” from Mar-a-Lago while he was on the icy roads of Iowa meeting supporters.

‘We’re not stopping. I do have my winter coat. We have other layers. I know it’s going to get colder,” DeSantis told supporters after speaking to a crowd of supporters in Council Bluffs, with the temperature outside at -5F.

Haley showed up in Iowa City, where the temperature was 6F, but the wind chill made it feel like -15F. A truck is seen in a median in Dubuque, Iowa, after skidding off the road

Snow covers a highway after a snowstorm left several inches of snow in Des Moines

Representative Ashley Hinson, from a neighboring district, stepped in at the last minute to open the program instead of Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Snow surrounds Nikki Haley campaign signs in Iowa City ahead of her event

The Iowa State Capitol building was surrounded by snow on Friday as blizzards blanketed the state

“We’re in, we’re showing up. Donald Trump called. He’ll be at Mar-a-Lago. It’s probably 75 degrees there,” he sneered. “We will talk in negative temperatures and bring this to the attention of Iowa voters Monday night,” he said.

It was a cold frontal attack on the front-runner who DeSantis has been accused of taking it easy during a campaign that has seen him trail the former president by more than 30 points in pre-caucus polls.

He also accused Trump of focusing on “his problems” and says his focus will be on 2020, not the future. ‘If he were to be nominated, the focus would be on the legal issues. “The Jan. 6 criminal trials of criminal convictions all play into the hands of Democrats, Biden or whoever they ultimately play into the hands of,” he said.

DeSantis was back on the road despite warnings of dangerous conditions after a snowstorm hit the state. Are top financiers looked to the heavens for metaphors to inflame his supporters.

Ron DeSantis said rival Donald Trump ‘called from Mar-a-Lago’ after Trump canceled planned Saturday events and DeSantis scheduled a series of events

“It’s 40 degrees below, are you ready to go?” Florida first lady Casey DeSantis told a crowd of DeSantis supporters in Council Bluffs.

‘You have some challenges. It’s getting quite cold. But we are tough and resilient Iowans, we care about this country,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who is supporting DeSantis, told a crowd that came to see the Florida governor.

‘We have to be safe. Low up. And if you show up, he’ll be the winner on Monday night,” she said.

DeSantis pointed to his roots in the Sunshine State but said the harsh weather could present an opportunity for his campaign, where polls show him trailing far behind Donald Trump.

DeSantis backers braved the wind and cold to attend his event Saturday in Council Bluffs

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was back on the campaign trail on Saturday after holding two events on Friday.

“Look, it won’t be easy. Wind chill minus 20, minus 30. I mean, I’ve never been in these temperatures before – even for people who grew up in the Midwest, this is telling,” he said. said as he took the stage.

‘But you have the opportunity to brave those elements. Go to the caucus and you’ll never get the chance to make your vote count that much,” he told a crowd of about 50 supporters at the Grass Wagon, the events center in Council Bluffs.

“You’re going to pack so much punch,” he told them.

‘We don’t know how many people will come. “It will be a relatively small number as the future of our country is at stake,” he added.

DeSantis, who drove in from Des Moines Saturday morning, sought and received props for campaigning.

“I’m a Florida boy. Born and bread. And yet here I am in negative temperatures. “I’m not going to cancel, if people are willing to come out and hear from me, I’ll show up,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump is canceling planned events in Iowa on Saturday and part of Sunday amid a snowstorm and frigid forecast. He said “maybe that’s a good thing because our people are more involved than anyone else” during Monday’s Iowa Caucuses.

‘You’ll see me everywhere. You have to earn the vote,” he said.

He started on a Friday court where he put together an event at the last minute, even after rival Nikki Haley scrubbed hers and put it online.

“We can handle the snow even though we are a Florida-based campaign,” DeSantis said during a meeting with his supporters in Des Moines.

On Friday evening, the Trump campaign announced he was scrubbing his Saturday events.

“I’m going to get there one way or another,” Trump told supporters in a video message to Iowans from West Palm Beach, where his hometown was experiencing mild temperatures. “You’re having the worst weather, I think, in history,” Trump added.

Trump then shifted the political implications, amid much media speculation about who would benefit. “But maybe that’s a good thing, because our people are more involved than anyone else, so maybe it’s actually a good thing for us,” he said.

He had plans to fly to Des Moines on Saturday evening. ‘It’s going to be a short journey. No one knows exactly how we’re going to get there,” he said.

While addressing his supporters, DeSantis took a few shots at Trump for his comments about COVID in a Fox News town hall on Wednesday.

“Donald Trump used to brag that he had shut down the world’s largest economy. He said he shut it down and kept all these lies. … now he’s saying the opposite,” DeSantis said.

“He basically said, oh, I’m a federalist, I had nothing to do with Fauci,” DeSantis said. “And then he blamed Fauci on me,” he said, criticizing the NIH infectious disease expert.

“I was literally the one selling Dump Fauci t-shirts for this thing.” He said Trump was “just trying to trick people.”

‘He thinks you’re stupid. He doesn’t think you can realize that what he’s saying is completely untrue,” he said angrily.

Among the DeSantis backers who showed up was Richard Buman, 49, a Catholic conservative who likes DeSantis’ positions on education and abortion. “His response to the coronavirus BS was spot on,” he said. Buman, of Harlan Iowa, shared his own skepticism about vaccine efficacy and called Trump “dishonest.”

The former restaurant owner who now builds sets for a commercial theater was able to get to the event by truck without any problems. “I didn’t even plow,” he said.

Several members of the crowd of about 50 said they were from Nebraska (Omaha is just across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs).