NationalWatch

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., endorsed former President Trump on Sunday instead of his state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, for the 2024 presidential election.

“When Trump was in WH I achieved major policies I had worked on for years (like expanded Child Tax Credit & tough sanctions on regime in Cuba & Venezuela) because we had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us,” Rubio wrote on X.

“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” he added. “It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!”

TRUMP PICKS UP MORE SENATE GOP ENDORSEMENTS

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks to reporters after a briefing on Ukraine in the Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rubio had contested against Trump in the 2016 election but withdrew from the race following his defeat in the Florida primary. Last November, Florida Sen. Rick Scott threw his support behind Trump, leading both state senators to favor Trump over DeSantis.

During the contentious 2016 race, Trump often referred to Rubio as “Little Marco,” while Rubio referred to Trump as a “con artist” and said his administration would be “chaos.” 

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS THE IOWA CAUCUSES APPROACH

Fox News Channel hosted a live town hall with former President Trump from Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. ET. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Just hours before Rubio threw his support behind Trump, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — who also dropped out of the 2024 race — endorsed the former president as well.

Rubio’s endorsement comes as Trump remains the consistent frontrunner in surveys. He joins nearly two dozen GOP senators in endorsing Trump, including Sens. JD Vance of Ohio, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and others.

Iowa caucusgoers will cast their vote for the Republican presidential nominee Monday evening. 

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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

President Biden’s approval rating plummeted to the lowest on record for a U.S. president in the last 15 years, according to a new poll by ABC News. 

Biden’s approval rating sits at just 31%, according to a national survey produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, with fieldwork by Ipsos Public Affairs via its online, probability-based KnowledgePanel. The poll found 58% of respondents disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president. That makes his approval rating worse than even former President Trump’s lowest in office, which was 36%, according to ABC News. It also marks the lowest since former President George W. Bush’s administration in the mid-2000s.  

Just 18% approve of how Biden is handling immigration at the southern border – half of his approval rating on the issue in the spring. ABC News said that means Biden has the lowest approval ranking on immigration in particular for any U.S. president featured in past ABC News/Washington Post polls that asked a version of the same question since January 2004.

BIDEN APPROVAL RATING NUMBERS DISMAL COMPARED TO PREVIOUS MODERN PRESIDENTS, GALLUP FINDS

President Biden speaks to members of the press before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 13, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

On the economy, the poll found that just 13% of Americans say they are better off financially since Biden took office. Following a 37-year record set in September, 43% of the respondents surveyed from Jan. 4-8, 2024, said they’re not as well off, and 41% said they were about the same financially since the current administration started. 

President Biden walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Jan. 12, 2024. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

ABC News said that around the middle of Trump’s term, just 13% – one-third as many people as Biden – said they were not as well off as before he took office, replacing former President Obama. The poll found that just 31% approve of how Biden is handling the economy, while 56% disapprove.

BIDEN HAS BEEN SECRETLY MEETING WITH DONORS TO EASE CONCERNS, INCLUDING HIS AGE AND ENERGY: REPORT

President Biden speaks during a campaign event at Emanuel AME Church on Jan. 8, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Just 26% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, while 48% disapprove. Though the poll noted a substantial 25% don’t express an opinion on the issue.

Republican candidates will begin squaring off Monday in Iowa as caucusgoers and voters start deciding which GOP nominee will take on President Biden this November. 

The Republican primary race has been underway for almost a year and has included large-scale attacks as candidates have jockeyed to close the gap between themselves and former President Trump, who has maintained commanding leads in polls.

But despite Trump’s frontrunner status, he has not been the most targeted GOP candidate. Instead, the candidates battling behind him have set their sights on each other, attempting to cut down and distance themselves from their challengers.

BLIZZARD DERAILS IOWA CAMPAIGN EVENTS, WILL BELOW ZERO TEMPS DEPRESS CAUCUS TURNOUT?

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential nomination. (Getty Images)

The race has featured extensive cash poured into political maneuvering, including attack ads. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been the most targeted GOP candidate in that regard as voters begin selecting the Republican presidential nominee.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, DeSantis has faced nearly $48 million in negative independent expenditures, including TV and radio ads. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has been attacked the second most, with almost $24 million in negative independent expenditures going toward her.

Haley and DeSantis, in particular, have targeted each other relentlessly as they attempt to solidify themselves as the Trump alternative.

Trump, meanwhile, has faced $23 million in negative independent expenditures, filings show. President Biden has seen $21 million in such spending aimed at him.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA – WILL IT PAY OFF?

Former President Trump has maintained commanding leads in polls. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Iowans will head to more than 1,600 caucus sites Monday night while braving frigid below-zero temperatures to cast ballots in the lead-off contest of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Iowa caucuses that we know today can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Current GOP presidential candidates have spent a lot of time and money touring various cities in Iowa beginning in 2023 and continuing this year, specifically ahead of caucus night, in an old-fashioned effort to campaign.

Iowa is typically the battleground state both Democrats and Republicans campaign in. However, Democrats have opted out of the first nominating contest in Iowa. This year, South Carolina will be the location for the Democrat’s primary contest as more support for President Biden is expected in the Palmetto State.

RUBIO BECOMES 2ND FLORIDA SENATOR TO ENDORSE TRUMP OVER DESANTIS

Through a communal decision process, Iowans will get together on Monday and select the candidate they want to represent their party on the general election ballot. The winning candidate is then named, shining a light on where voters stand thus far in the race. 

However, the championed candidate does not immediately earn the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election, but rather rustles up bragging rights and a better chance at furthering their campaign trail.

Here are some of the upsets and most notable caucuses over the last five decades.

Iowa caucus 1972: After a push to change the traditional ways of the caucus system from Democrats who believed it was more controlled by “party bosses” as opposed to “responding to grassroots voices and desire,” according to the Des Moines Register, Iowa became first in kicking off the election process during the election season. Then-Sen. George McGovern, a Democrat, came in third place with 23% votes, but he gained media attention which helped him in the New Hampshire primary.

Iowa caucus 1976: Jimmy Carter also made it in the news and spent a lot of time in Iowa, which boosted his performance. He ended up gaining 28% of the votes and went on to eventually become president.

Iowa caucus 1988: Then-Sen. Bob Dole won 37% of the votes, calling it “a rather clear-cut victory,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Televangelist Pat Robertson came in second place with 25%, and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush came in third place with 19%. However, Bush eventually ended up becoming the nominee, winning the presidency.

Iowa caucus 2008: Then-Sen. Barack Obama, who eventually became the president, was up against then-Sen. Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee was up against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain. Obama won 37.6% of the votes, and Clinton came in third place, winning 29.5%. Huckabee won 34.4% of votes from delegates, Romney came in second with 25.4% and McCain in last place with 13.2%.

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Iowa caucus 2012: Romney was named as winner of the caucus, beating former Senator Rick Santorum by eight votes. Everything seemed to be smooth sailing after Romney won the New Hampshire primary, and he would have been the first Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating race. However, just eight days after the primary, it was found out that Romney came in second place in the Iowa caucus and 16 days after the caucus it was made public that he had actually lost to Santorum by 34 votes.

Iowa caucus 2016: Roughly 182,000 Republican caucus-goers turned out for the 2016 Iowa caucuses, which was a record-breaking turnout for the primary event. The GOP race included Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio. Cruz went on to win the caucus, receiving the most votes ever in the Hawkeye State for a single candidate, but Trump went on to become president.

This mishap affected the Republican Party in Iowa, forcing them to admit that there was a mistake in counting votes. 

Caucusgoers are heading out in freezing temperatures to cast the first votes of the 2024 election. Snowfall and temperatures have set new records in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

“I haven’t ever experienced a minus 15 degrees in my life,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an event in Altoona last week.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley told Iowans attending an event in Ankeny, “It’s going to be so cold. Like, I don’t even know what minus 15 is.” 

“That was a hell of a trip I just took,” former President Donald Trump told a Clinton rally. “The snow came and the rain. I saw everything.”

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential nomination. (Getty Images)

LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS, FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The winter storm has forced the candidates to adjust their schedules. Trump had to cancel several events and held a tele-rally. Haley also held telephone town halls after a series of cancellations. 

“I have to say, I am definitely not in South Carolina anymore. This is unbelievable,” she told attendees at a Waukee event. 

DeSantis also canceled events and was forced to readjust his schedule due to the weather. Vivek Ramaswamy has criticized the other candidates for cancellations, despite canceling his own events. 

“Some saw a snowstorm, canceled events in northwest Iowa,” Ramaswamy said at a Sioux City rally, just one day before canceling his events in Coralville and Burlington. “We got four events. We’re keeping them intact. You can’t handle the snow, you’re not ready for Xi Jinping. That’s my view.”

Ahead of our interview with Ramaswamy in Dallas County, the Republican candidate’s bus was unable to make the drive from Sioux City to Des Moines because of black ice. 

With candidates already getting less voter interaction and threatening cold temperatures, some worry it could impact turnout. 

“It’s a little concerning for some of us who’ve been at this process a long time, because we have some seniors who vote. And sometimes when the weather is bad, they don’t vote,” former Iowa Republican Party Co-Chair David Oman said. “I’m hopeful and have been thinking, up until just now with the weather, that we might have a record turnout.”

Early voting or mail-in ballots are not an option for most Republican caucusgoers. Instead, they must brave the elements to attend in person. 

“The caucus process and how it differs from a primary is that you actually have to be at the place of the precinct caucus at a specific time,” State Historical Society of Iowa historian Leo Landis said. 

Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The caucuses are run by political parties, while primaries are usually run by the state. Iowa Republicans have more than 1,600 locations. 

“People come together and sit in a room, or a classroom or a civic building and talk about the campaign,” Oman said. 

Candidate representatives often give speeches in an attempt to sway caucusgoers who may still be undecided. Caucusgoers then cast their votes using a secret ballot. 

“Sometimes they’re preprinted and you might check a name, or sometimes you just write the name on a slip of paper,” Landis said. “It’s the oldest way that nomination processes took place, was neighbors gathering, promoting a candidate or a cause that they thought was important and trying to convince their neighbors.”

They also select delegates for the county conventions. It’s the beginning of a multi-tiered process that involves electing delegates to attend the Republican National Convention. Those individuals are bound to back the winner of the GOP caucuses in Milwaukee this summer. But that was not always the case. The 2012 Iowa caucuses led to major changes for Republicans. 

Mitt Romney had initially appeared to defeat Rick Santorum. 

“In 2012, we had a slight glitch where Mitt Romney won by eight votes,” Oman said. 

Around two weeks after the results were announced, a new tally showed Santorum had more votes than Romney.

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR

The eventual winner would change once again during the Republican National Convention. Since the delegates were not bound to vote for Santorum or Romney at the convention, they were able to switch their preference to Texas Rep. Ron Paul. 

“Rep. Paul saw how contested conventions could lead to a different nomination,” Landis said. “Even though delegates are supposedly locked in, the nomination at the convention shifted.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives for a campaign rally at the Thunderdome on Dec. 2, 2023, in Newton, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

For the 2016 election cycle, the Republican National Committee made it so delegates were bound to the candidate they were allocated to. 

“That was something that you did have, especially in the 1970s, where the Reagan versus Ford campaign really wasn’t locked up till the national convention,” Landis said. 

Democrats do not have binding delegates but have changed their process dramatically after issues plagued the 2020 caucuses. 

“You can’t talk about the 2020 Democratic nomination process without saying it was a debacle,” Landis said. 

The party was unable to determine a winner due to glitches with the app it used to record and report results. 

“They didn’t report any votes because they didn’t have any votes,” Oman said. 

They eventually released a tally showing former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had narrowly defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

“With the three-day wait and maybe having some issues about where the votes counted or the caucus delegates counted accurately really did reflect poorly on the Iowa Democratic Party,” Landis said. 

While some criticize the process on both sides, Iowans say the first-in-the-nation status helps boost voter turnout. 

“Certainly it has limitations, but it’s not as if primaries bring out more than 50% of the voters. So it really is the engaged electorate who’s participating in caucuses,” Landis said.

Whether Democrats make Iowa first once again in 2028 is still unclear.

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at The James Theater in Iowa City on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (Alex Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP, HALEY AND DESANTIS HAVE PLENTY ON THE LINE AS IOWA CAUCUSES KICK OFF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

“I think it’s going to be a hard, hard push for the Iowa Democratic Party to get that back,” Landis said. 

Democrats were the first to make Iowa the first in the nation event. Republicans followed suit in 1976.

“In 1972, you’ve got Edmund Muskie versus George McGovern, and Muskie was the senator from Maine, seen as the frontrunner,” Landis said. 

South Dakota Sen. George McGovern campaigned heavily in Iowa. While he did not win the caucuses, he did much better than expected and eventually became the 1972 Democratic nominee. 

“McGovern used Iowa to prove he was a viable candidate,” Landis said. “Then in 1976, it really does become a national event for candidates.”

While the winner in Iowa does not always determine the nominee, it does give candidates momentum. In 1980, George H.W. Bush won the caucuses and went on to be Ronald Reagan’s vice president. He was eventually elected to the White House in 1988. That year, Bob Dole won the caucuses with the help of his Iowa-native campaign manager. 

“We take politics very seriously because this process has worked for almost two generations,” Oman said. 

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While the polls have Trump in the lead, Iowa caucusgoers could help another candidate get the boost they need to either win the nomination or other top political positions. 

“You’ve got these stories that sometimes get overlooked in Iowa’s role,” Landis said. “They show who are good candidates with good messages, with good organizations, and might be a great candidate on a national stage, too.”

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is taking to the airwaves hours before her state’s caucuses lead off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar to raise expectations for former President Trump.

“I think it’s going to be bad for President Trump if he doesn’t come in over 50. He’s not meeting expectations that the media and the polls have been putting out for the past several months,” Reynolds argued in an interview Monday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”

The popular Iowa governor is the top surrogate in the Hawkeye State for Trump’s rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is battling former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for a distant second place in Iowa behind Trump, who is the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

It is not just Reynolds, either. 

WHAT’S ON THE LINE FOR TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND HALEY IN THE IOWA CAUCUSES

Republican presidential candidate former President Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier, in a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” argued that “expectations are high for Trump…he’s got to perform. If he gets less than half the vote, more people voting against him than for him. I think that’s, you know, setting up doom down the road.”

WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS

Haley, in an interview on the same program, noted that people will be looking to see if Trump “is falling below 50%.”

Additionally, Haley’s campaign, in a video Monday morning, spotlighted clips of Trump touting how he is up by 60 points in some polls.

Former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, holds up a commit to caucus card during a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ in Ames, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump is confident he will do “very well” in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses.

However, the former president is not ready to make a prediction on whether he will top 50%.

As he left his hotel in Des Moines on Sunday, Trump was asked by Fox News’ James Levinson about whether he would receive more than 50% of the vote in the caucuses.

“I don’t know, I think we are doing very well,” Trump answered. The former president is sitting on extremely large double-digit leads in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

Trump grabbed 50% support or higher in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. Additionally, he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers that was released Saturday night. Haley and DeSantis stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey, respectively.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, takes the microphone after being introduced at an event in West Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. Also on stage with him are Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, left, and DeSantis’ wife, Casey DeSantis. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivai)

The closely-watched and highly-anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and it is considered by many as the gold standard in Iowa polling.

However, Trump and his campaign are taking aim at the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

WILL RON DESANTIS BIG BET ON IOWA PAY OFF?

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

Trump, speaking with reporters on Sunday, said “there seems to be something about 50%.”

“I think they’re doing it so that they can set a high expectation. So if we end up with 49%, which would be about 25 points bigger than anyone else ever got. They can say he had a failure, it was a failure. You know fake news,” he argued.

However, despite his best efforts, plenty of analysts and pundits will be focusing on how Trump finishes.

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Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, told Fox News “there are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now.”

“One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” noted Kochel, who remains neutral in the Republican presidential caucuses.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., privately told House Republicans that he will not accept whatever border security deal comes out of current talks between the Senate and White House, a GOP lawmaker familiar with the call said.

His GOP Conference held a conference call Sunday night, when Johnson held firm on his position that the House would not back anything less than Republicans’ Secure the Border Act, known as H.R.2, the lawmaker said.

Fox News Digital was told that border security negotiations became the main topic of discussion, with lawmakers discussing how to force passage of conservative border policies. 

KEY MODERATE REPUBLICAN COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF IMPEACHING MAYORKAS, SAYS HE SHOULD BE ‘TRIED FOR TREASON’

Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP lawmakers that he would not accept a border compromise from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s chamber as-is. (Getty Images)

It comes as a bipartisan group of senators is discussing what kind of border policy compromises could be reached in exchange for Republican support for Democrats’ $110 billion supplemental funding request for Ukraine, Israel and other humanitarian causes. 

Republicans on the call were told that the Senate is nearing a deal, the lawmaker said. One has not yet been announced.

JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE’

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for further comment.

Johnson has maintained both in public and private that the House GOP’s default position is H.R.2, the immigration and border bill that passed the House along party lines in May. 

Senator James Lankford is representing Republicans in the border security negotiations. (Reuters)

The bill, which includes a return to Trump administration-era policies like Remain in Mexico and construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, has been labeled a nonstarter by the Democrat-held Senate and White House.

Johnson pledged on the call to “use every tool we can” to get H.R.2 passed, Fox News Digital was told. 

HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM

A second GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital after the call, “I don’t think any Republican in the House wants the Senate deal.”

Immigrants from Venezuela walk towards a U.S. Border Patrol transit center after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States on Jan. 8, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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“Where’s the border security in it? We need H.R.2 or a functional alternative, but the speaker makes a good point when he says the president unilaterally made over 60 policy changes that dismantled our border security and got us here,” the second lawmaker said. “He can unilaterally fix it today without any legislative action.”

Last week, Johnson’s office put out a memo pointing out 64 policy decisions by Biden and his officials that Republicans argue have undermined border security over the last two years.

Squelching speculation of a third-party presidential run, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday endorsed Nikki Haley for the GOP nomination, saying he feels she “is the strongest chance” for Republicans to win in November.

Hogan told CNN’s “State of the Union” he thinks “it’s pretty clear” that former President Donald Trump will win Monday’s Iowa caucuses,” but that Haley “has all of the momentum” to make her a strong nominee.

Hogan, one of his party’s fiercest Trump critics, had fueled speculation that he was preparing for his own third-party bid when he stepped down from the leadership of No Labels. A resignation letter dated Dec. 15 offered no criticism of the group, and Hogan declined to comment after the letter was obtained earlier this month by The Associated Press.

WATCH: HALEY SUPPORTERS PREDICT OUTCOME OF IOWA CAUCUSES, REVEAL WHO THEY REFUSE TO SUPPORT AS GOP NOMINEE

On Sunday, Hogan said he hadn’t meant to stoke rumors that he was planning his own run when he left the group, saying that he was focused on GOP efforts “to nominate the strongest possible Republican we can.”

“It kind of created a whole lot of speculation,” Hogan said. “I didn’t mean to do that. My position on No Labels has not changed.”

No Labels is seeking ballot access across the country as it lays the groundwork for a possible presidential ticket. The plans have spooked many Democrats and other Trump critics who fear it would siphon votes that would otherwise go to Democratic President Joe Biden and facilitate Trump’s return to the White House.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, seen here speaking at an annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 18, 2022, has endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 GOP nomination. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been locked in a tight battle for second place in Iowa, which holds its leadoff GOP caucus vote on Monday night. The final pre-caucus Des Moines Register/NBC News poll found Trump maintaining a formidable lead in the state, supported by nearly half of likely caucus-goers compared with 20% for Haley and 16% for DeSantis.

Hogan suggested a strong second-place finish for Haley would give her momentum heading into next week’s primary in New Hampshire, where he said “it’s possible she could win, which would put her in much better position when she moves into her home state of South Carolina.’’

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Some had previously hoped that Hogan would seek the GOP nomination this year himself. But in March, Hogan wrote in an op-ed that he wouldn’t run because he cares “more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party.”

Some Republicans had hoped that Hogan, emerging as the new best hope of a small group of “Never Trump Republicans,” would also challenge Trump in 2020. But a year after Hogan’s reelection in 2018, he said that while he appreciated “all of the encouragement” he had received to run for president, he would not. Hogan told AP he had no interest in a “kamikaze mission.”

In the past two presidential elections, Hogan said he did not vote for Trump, the party nominee. Hogan said he wrote in the name of his father, former U.S. Rep. Larry Hogan Sr., in 2016 and the late President Ronald Reagan in 2020.

DES MOINES, Iowa – In a presidential race that’s been underway for more than a year, the voters finally get a say.

Braving frigid below zero temperatures that are punishing the Hawkeye State, Iowans head to more than 1,600 caucus sites on Monday night to cast ballots in the lead off contest of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

“Tomorrow, Jan. 15, I need each and every one of you to get out. Everybody get out. Just get out and vote,” former President Donald Trump urged his supporters at a rally Sunday in Indianola, Iowa.

The former president is the commanding frontrunner in national surveys and the latest polls in Iowa as he runs a third straight time for the White House. 

WHAT THE FINAL POLL SHOWS BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

He stood at 50% or higher in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa and grabbed 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers, which was released Saturday night. Former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey as they battle for a distant second place.

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has relentlessly campaigned across Iowa in recent months, stood at 8% in the poll. 

The closely watched and highly anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and is considered the gold standard in Iowa polling by many.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA – WILL IT PAY OFF?

DeSantis and Haley questioned whether Trump would meet lofty expectations.

DeSantis’ campaign manager James Uthmeier, in a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” argued that “expectations are high for Trump…he’s got to perform. If he gets less than half the vote, more people voting against him than for him. I think that’s, you know, setting up doom down the road.”

And Haley, in an interview on the same program, noted that people will be looking to see if Trump “is falling below 50%.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, told Fox News “there are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now.”

“One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” noted Kochel, who remains neutral in the Republican presidential caucuses.

Trump and his campaign are taking aim at the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

Trump, speaking with reporters on Sunday, said “there seems to be something about 50%.”

“I think they’re doing it so that they can set a high expectation. So if we end up with 49%, which would be about 25 points bigger than anyone else ever got. They can say he had a failure, it was a failure. You know fake news,” he argued.

Haley, who launched her presidential campaign nearly a year ago, told supporters at an event Sunday in Ames, Iowa, “I know you’re excited. I’m excited because it’s been 11 months, and it comes down to tomorrow.”

Former UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley holds up a commit to caucus card during a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Thanks in part to well-regarded debate performances, Haley enjoyed plenty of momentum in the late summer and autumn. In recent weeks, she caught up with DeSantis for second place in national surveys and the polls in Iowa.

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place, thus narrowing the gap with Trump, in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar, eight days after Iowa’s caucuses.

Speaking with Fox News Digital late last week following an energetic campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, Haley touted that “our people are excited. The momentum is real on the ground.”

Haley, who has repeatedly in recent weeks tried to frame the GOP nomination race as a two-candidate battle between her and Trump, pointed toward the former president as she told Fox News on Sunday that “it’s you and me now.”

IT’S NOT AN ELECTION, SO HOW DO THE IOWA CAUCUSES WORK?

DeSantis stressed “we’ve done it the right way” while standing in front of a jam-packed room at the Iowa headquarters of a super PAC supporting his White House bid.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes the microphone after being introduced at an event in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivai)

The Florida governor has spent much of his time and resources in Iowa and with his presidential campaign arguably on the line in Monday night’s caucuses, DeSantis was urging his supporters to brave the bitter cold to show up and vote.

“It’s going to be cold. It’s not going to be pleasant. But if you’re willing to go out there and you’re willing to fight for me, if you’re willing to bring people to the caucus, if you’re willing to brave the elements and be there for the couple of hours you have to be there, if you’re willing to do that, if you’re willing to fight for me on Monday night, then as president I’ll be fighting for you for the next eight years,” DeSantis emphasized.

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS THE IOWA CAUCUSES APPROACH

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to Trump in the Republican race. 

However, after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, and after getting hammered by negative ads, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Now, he’s betting that his vaulted ground game in Iowa, which is heavily reliant on the aligned super PAC Never Back Down, will carry him across the finish line.

“We’ve got a great path going forward,” DeSantis emphasized on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to do well on Monday. We’ve got an unbelievable organization.”

Some pundits question whether DeSantis will stay in the race if he finishes behind Haley on Monday night.

When asked if he is heading on to New Hampshire regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis reiterated his response from a Fox Digital interview on Friday – “we’re going to be in New Hampshire.”

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Trump, who narrowly lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, has dramatically stepped up his campaign operation in the state compared to eight years ago as he aims to quickly wrap up the 2024 nomination.

“We’ve built an operation in over 1,800 caucus locations with straight-up volunteers, neighborhood by neighborhood. They know the area, and they know who’s caucusing in their area, and they’ll be following up with them, making sure they vote,” LaCivita told Fox News.

“Our focus and our premium has been on people…and we think it’s going to bear fruit in a big way,” he predicted.

A large Donald Trump 2024 sign outside the former president’s Iowa campaign headquarters in Urbandale covered by snow. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Blizzard conditions blasted Iowa on Friday and Saturday, with lingering effects into Sunday.

Longtime Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann was confident that the frigid forecast wouldn’t keep Iowans home on caucus night.

“Out of everything – snow, ice and the cold temperatures – the cold temperatures worry me the least,” he told Fox News on Friday.

“If it was today. I would be worried. On Monday, we’re going to have two days of clearing off the roads,” Kaufmann noted. “Iowans can handle the cold. And they know exactly what to do to keep themselves safe.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: A Massachusetts wind project, which recently became the first utility-scale offshore wind project to deliver electricity to the grid, wouldn’t have been financially viable if the Biden administration hadn’t intervened, according to internal documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Federal officials with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) acknowledged in the unearthed communications shared with Fox News Digital that granting a waiver on development fees designed to safeguard taxpayers was “critical” for the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project. BOEM ultimately waived the financial assurance for decommissioning costs fee for the project in June 2021.

“The more we dig into the details of the Vineyard Wind project the more concerning it becomes. The Biden administration brags that this is the first utility-scale offshore wind project. But clearly, without BOEM contorting the approval process and waiving requirements meant to protect taxpayers, Vineyard is unlikely to ever have gotten off the ground,” Michael Chamberlain, the director of watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), which obtained the documents, told Fox News Digital.

“Both BOEM and the developer have admitted as much. This situation does not bode well,” Chamberlain continued. “If government has to bend the rules to make these projects feasible, it’s just a matter of time before the ‘clean energy transition’ is dead in the water. The only questions may be how many taxpayer resources are put at risk and how much of the American public’s trust is squandered before it happens.”

GIANT OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT AXED IN BLOW TO BIDEN’S GREEN GOALS

Wind turbine blades are stacked at the New Bedford Marine Terminal in Massachusetts on June 14, 2023. The blades are for the Vineyard Wind project. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

On June 15, 2021, BOEM Office of Renewable Energy Programs Chief James Bennett sent a letter to Vineyard Wind’s developer, informing the firm that the agency had approved a March 2021 request to waive the fee. Under the action, Vineyard Wind isn’t required to pay the development fee until 15 years after the project enters operations under its 20-year power purchase agreements.

Vineyard Wind first submitted the request in December 2017, but the Trump administration rejected it, forcing the developer to resubmit it in March 2021. Federal statute mandates that developers pay the fee prior to construction on their lease, a potentially hefty fee designed to guarantee federal property is returned to its original state after a lessee departs its lease.

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In addition, Meredith Lilley, an energy program specialist at BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs, acknowledged in an internal email also on June 15, 2021, that waiving the fee by August 2021 was vital to ensure Vineyard Wind could maintain financial viability. The move notably came one month before BOEM approved the project’s construction and operations plan.

“Issuing a decision to Vineyard Wind on this request is critical to enabling them to carry on with the Vineyard Wind 1 Project because it is a key determinant of the project’s value, which Vineyard Wind needs to know now in order to secure financing and achieve financial close in early August,” Lilley wrote in the email to other federal officials involved in internal deliberations.

President Biden points to a wind turbine size comparison chart during a meeting about the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership on June 23, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

And according to Bennett, BOEM waived the fee because the project included risk reduction factors, including insurance policies to cover damages, use of proven wind turbine technology, and the use of power purchase agreements “with guaranteed electricity sales prices that, coupled with the consistent supply of wind energy, ensure a predictable income over the life of the project.”

The letter also stated that the “regulatory departure” would reduce Vineyard Wind’s financial assurance burden, enabling the developer to invest freed-up capital in construction and enabling the project to enter operations sooner. In addition, it explained the fee was waived also because it “promotes the production and transmission of energy from a source other than oil and gas.”

TOP OFFICIALS WARNED BIDEN ADMIN ABOUT DANGERS WIND ENERGY PROJECTS POSE TO FISHING INDUSTRY, LETTER SHOWS

“In 2021, per its regulatory authority, BOEM approved Vineyard Wind 1’s request to defer providing the full amount of its decommissioning financial assurance until year 15 of actual operations under its 20-year Power Purchase Agreement for the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind energy project offshore Massachusetts,” a BOEM spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“BOEM deferred this requirement for Vineyard Wind 1 with the condition that such financial assurance would be provided in full during a time when the project risk is low — that is, during the time when the offshore wind lessee has guaranteed financial support through an assured price for the electricity generated by the project,” the spokesperson added.

President Biden delivers remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Summit alongside Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The pair have made approving and permitting offshore wind a priority as part of the administration’s climate agenda. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

The revelation comes days after Vineyard Wind’s developers, lawmakers and environmental groups celebrated the project beginning to send electricity to the grid. The milestone was achieved after one wind turbine entered operations at the offshore site which will eventually host 62 turbines.

After the turbine began producing electricity on Jan. 2, the Sierra Club said the project “will aid tremendously in reducing dangerous fossil fuel air pollution” and fellow eco group the Conservation Law Foundation added that “New England’s transition away from polluting fossil fuels and towards clean, renewable energy is underway in earnest.”

BIDEN ADMIN MAKES STUNNING ADMISSION ON CLIMATE AGENDA IN LEAKED INTERNAL MEMO

“They’ve made it very, very clear that they will approve these projects really regardless of anything,” Meghan Lapp, the fisheries liaison for Rhode Island-based fishing company Seafreeze, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

“They don’t care about the impacts to fishing communities,” she added. “They don’t care about the impacts to coastal communities. They don’t care about the impacts to marine mammals. Even though there’s a lot of regulation on all of these other things and all of those other spheres, offshore wind gets a pass.”

Wind turbine blades for the Vineyard Wind project are stacked on racks on July 11, 2023, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Lapp’s company Seafreeze is spearheading a lawsuit against Vineyard Wind over the project’s impacts on the fishing industry, the environment and coastal communities. Lapp expressed concern that, if the case leads to a court order to remove the project’s turbines, there will be no funds for that removal operation given BOEM’s waiver.

“If we win, we want those turbines gone. We want them taken out,” she said. “The entire time, throughout the regulatory process for all of these wind farms, the federal government keeps saying, ‘Don’t worry, there are decommissioning funds.’ Well, now come to find out there are no decommissioning funds for Vineyard Wind. If we win the case, who’s going to take them out? And that’s a big, big problem.”

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Vineyard Wind — which is a joint venture between Danish energy developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and New England utility services company Avangrid — was first proposed years ago, but was fast-tracked once President Biden entered office. In May 2021, the Department of the Interior (DOI) formally approved the project, marking the first utility-scale offshore wind farm to receive federal approval.

Then, in July 2021, BOEM approved Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan and, four months later, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland joined then-Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials for the commemorative groundbreaking of the project in Barnstable, Massachusetts. 

The Biden campaign raised more than $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and has $117 million cash-on-hand— the “highest total of any Democratic candidate in history” at this point in a presidential election cycle.

The campaign announced Monday that President Biden’s re-election campaign is entering the 2024 presidential election year with “historic resources,” and touted the campaign’s grassroots efforts.

BIDEN MARKS THREE YEARS SINCE JAN. 6 BLASTING TRUMP, SAYING HE IS ‘TRYING TO STEAL HISTORY’

“This historic haul—proudly powered by strong and growing grassroots enthusiasm—sends a clear message: the Team Biden-Harris coalition knows the stakes of this election and is ready to win this November,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said. “Across our coalition, we are seeing early, sustained support that is helping us scale our growing operation across the country and take our message to the communities that will determine this election.”

She added: “Our democracy and hard-fought basic rights and freedoms are on the line in 2024, and these numbers prove that the American people know the stakes and are taking action early to help defeat the extreme MAGA Republican agenda again.”

President Joe Biden  (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The campaign out-raised its Q3 numbers. In October, the campaign announced it raised approximately $71 million in the third quarter of 2023. 

The campaign said it has successfully grown its cash on hand for the last three quarters – starting at $77 million in Q2, to $91 million in Q3, and now $117 million at the end of Q4.

“While most of the Republicans have not yet announced their fundraising numbers, we fully expect to lap them…Several times.” Biden Senior Advisor for Communications TJ Ducklo said.

The Biden campaign, in December, had its strongest grassroots fundraising month, breaking its previous record from November. The campaign said nearly 1 million supporters have made more than 2.3 million contributions.

President Biden demonstrated his new “Dark Brandon” mug on Twitter.

The campaign reported that 97% of its donations in Q4 were under $200, with the campaign seeing an average grassroots contribution of $41.88.

BIDEN EXPECTED TO RAISE MORE THAN $15 MILLION IN STAR-STUDDED FUNDRAISING BLITZ: SOURCES

Reflecting on its fundraising history, the campaign said its “Cup of Joe” contest to meet with Biden and Vice President Harris was the campaign’s “most successful contest to date, raising over $3 million.”

The campaign has also held 110 fundraisers since President Biden announced his re-election campaign—including 39 in the last quarter of 2023.

In December, Biden raised more than $15 million during a fundraising blitz. 

First, the president attended a fundraising event in Boston, Mass., which featured a concert by singer-songwriter James Taylor. Front-row tickets sold for $7,500 per seat. 

President-elect Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff arrive at the steps of the U.S. Capitol for the start of the official inauguration ceremonies, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. ((AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

Then, he traveled to Los Angeles for a Hollywood fundraiser hosted by Steven Spielberg, Shona Rhimes, CEO of Paramount Pictures Jim Gianopulos, actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner, and others. Top tickets for that event were said to be $930,000 each. 

But the campaign said the numbers tell a story—and reflect efforts across not just the Biden re-election campaign, but the Democratic National Committee and its joint-fundraising committees.

The campaign said one-third of its donors are new donors since the 2020 campaign.

“As Republicans burn through millions of dollars in their race to out-MAGA each other, grassroots supporters across the country are pitching in to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and stop MAGA extremism in its tracks,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said. “This historic haul—powered by grassroots donors—makes it clear that voters understand the stakes of this election and they’re ready to stand up and fight for our democracy and freedoms.”

Harrison said the Biden campaign and the DNC are working “as one team with a single mission.”

That mission is “to build a winning campaign that has the resources to send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris back to the White House, and elect Democrats up and down the ballot.” 

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The campaign announced the numbers on the day of the Iowa Caucuses—the first-in-the-nation presidential primary contests. With Joe Biden running unopposed in the Democratic primary, all eyes are on Republicans.

Voters, for the first time, will choose between former President Trump, who is leading the GOP field by a massive margin; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

ADEL, IA – Supporters of Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley offered their predictions on the outcome of Monday’s Iowa caucuses, but some also revealed which candidate they refuse to support should that individual eventually become the GOP nominee.

Fox News Digital traveled to Haley’s final rally ahead of Monday and spoke to a number of voters who expressed their admiration for her, as well as optimism that she would “close the gap” with frontrunner former President Donald Trump.

“The media will tell us that Trump is going to just blow everything away. I think he probably will win, but I think the margin between him and Nikki will be a lot closer,” one voter named Claudia told Fox. 

NIKKI HALEY’S CAMPAIGN SPENT THOUSANDS ON LUXURY HOTELS DESPITE CLAIM IT RUNS ‘A TIGHT SHIP’

Claudia, a supporter of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, speaks to Fox News Digital at a rally in Adel, Iowa, on Jan. 14. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)

“Nikki’s a consensus builder. She works on both sides of the aisle. She’s a thinker. I think it’s very important for our president to have international savvy and you can’t beat Nikki in her global knowledge of everything. She’s just solid,” she added.

Another voter named Steph told Fox that, although she wasn’t sure who would ultimately come out on top on caucus day, Haley was a “smart person,” who can “bridge the gap” between Democrats and Republicans.

“She takes nothing personally. She is fiscally responsible. She wants to get a hold of the border and take care of it. I can’t think of anything that she talks about that I don’t agree with her on,” she said. 

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Steph added: “But most importantly, it’s time to repair our nation. We are in disarray, and she is the one person, I think, who will be able to bring us all back together in a very calm and collective way. She listens. She cares. There’s no drama. It’s wonderful. She’s a wonderful person and a great leader, and she is really and truly who we need now.”

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event at Country Lane Lodge on Jan. 14 in Adel, Iowa. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Dennis and Stacy, a husband and wife, told Fox that they decided together a few weeks ago to support Haley, calling it a “hard decision” between her and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Stacy predicted people would be “surprised” at Haley’s performance on Monday, and that she could eventually be the nominee if she continued to perform well in subsequent states despite the belief Trump “has it in the bag.” Dennis simply said, “It’s hard to tell until the caucus is over.”

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“I really want somebody who can bring us back together. The president shouldn’t be somebody that hates half the nation. And right now, it feels like the two top runners in both parties are in that position,” caucus precinct chair Terry told Fox. 

“[Haley] still has the solid Republican platform. She believes in pro-life and all that, but she’s willing to listen and understand what other people say. And that’s something I think we need in America today,” he added.

Dennis and Stacy, supporters of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, speak with Fox News Digital at a rally in Adel, Iowa, on Jan. 14. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)

When asked if they would support Trump should he ultimately be the nominee, most at the rally refused.

“I don’t think I could do it. I would write in Nikki before I would vote for Trump,” Claudia said, while Steph flat out said the former president would not be her second choice.

“I am not going to think about that until I have to. I don’t have a second choice right now,” she said.

WAR VETERAN SETS MAJOR FUNDRAISING RECORD IN BID TO FLIP CRUCIAL SENATE SEAT FROM DEMOCRATS

Stacy and Dennis both said they wouldn’t support Trump if he became the nominee, and that his opponents were “better candidates,” but that they also didn’t want President Biden.

Terry, a supporter of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, speaks to Fox News Digital at a rally in Adel, Iowa, on Jan. 14. (Brandon Gillespie/Fox News)

Although he didn’t mention Trump by name, Terry was the only one who told Fox he would support whoever had the “R” by their name.

“I’m a fiscal conservative. I’m tired of the government spending our money and taking our money and going into debt. And that’s the number one reason that I voted Republican in the past. I’m still socially pretty moderate. So, I think the Republican Party still will give us that,” he added.

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Despite the subzero temperatures and blankets of snow covering the Iowa landscape, most expressed confidence that voters would brave the conditions to cast their votes, although some admitted concern for older Iowans having difficulty getting to their polling place safely.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Fulton County, Georgia district attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against former President Donald Trump on election interference, claims allegations brought against her of having an “improper” romantic relationship with a prosecutor were made because they are Black.

Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Trump and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case.

For the first time since the allegations were made, Willis spoke on the matter at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta on Sunday.

TOP TRUMP PROSECUTOR, GEORGIA DA ALLEGED TO BE IN ‘IMPROPER’ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP: COURT FILING

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

“They only attacked one,” she said. “First thing they say, ‘Oh, she’s gonna play the race card now.’

“But no God, isn’t it them that’s playing the race card when they only question one,” Willis asked.

Willis had remained mum in public on the matter, though she still has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations brought against her and Wade, who was involved in bringing an indictment against Trump for election interference.

FORMER COP TARGETS TRUMP, GOP OPPONENTS OVER ‘DISGRACEFUL’ LAW ENFORCEMENT RHETORIC 3 YEARS AFTER JAN 6

Former President Trump has been ordered to appear in federal court in Washington D.C. for his arraignment on Thursday, Aug. 3, at 4:00 p.m.  (Emily Elconin for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Although she never mentioned Wade by name during the speech on Sunday, she referred to the man as “a great friend and a great lawyer.”

Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis and Wade of having an “improper” and “clandestine” affair at the same time appointments were being made for the 2020 election interference case.

Roman was a former official on Trump’s 2020 campaign and argued about the integrity of the case being compromised because of the affair, last week in court, asking for the charges against Roman to be dropped.

HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATING WHETHER FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ‘COORDINATED’ WITH JAN 6 COMMITTEE

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. (Getty Images)

“The district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner, who at all times relevant to this prosecution has been a married man,” court documents read.

Fulton County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case.

The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case.

Michael Roman was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. Roman is charged with alleged violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, two counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office )

Willis said on Sunday that John Floyd and Anna Green Cross, both prosecutors assigned to the case, are both white and were not targeted.

“Isn’t it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job I’ve been doing almost 30 years,” Willis asked.

Trump was indicted by Willis in August and pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law.

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Roman, alongside Trump, was hit with a racketeering charge as part of Willis’ case and was charged with seven felony counts last August.

The Georgia case is one of four pending against Trump; he also faces charges in New York City, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Brandon Gillespie of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

With one day left to sway voters, Republican presidential candidates are holding their final events in the Hawkeye State. 

“I’ve probably been to more pizza ranches than I have to gyms in the last six months,” Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said during a December event in Atlantic, Iowa.

From former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley’s pictures with the Iowa State Fair Butter Cow – to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ visit to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, candidates have held events across Iowa for the last year. 

“I’m going to use every minute I can to be able to win votes,” DeSantis said at an event last week in Ankeny, IA.

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Between all of the town halls and diner visits, some voters are still unsure of who they plan to support.

“I’ve kind of narrowed it down to Haley and DeSantis,” Retired U.S. Army Reserves Col. Mike Treinen said. 

Treinen served during the Vietnam War and says veterans’ issues are important to him.

“With Iran and Israel, those are heavy duty issues,” Treinen said. “There are a lot of people who would like to think that we’re already at war with Iran.”

Former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, right, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, appearing at a Republican presidential nomination debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

He is also concerned about national defense and the crisis at the southern border. He wants a candidate who can beat President Joe Biden.

“I will not vote for Biden under any circumstances,” Treinen said. “I think he just shows a complete failure of leadership, trying to always duck the issue, blame it on somebody else. A lot of poor ideas, the pullout from Afghanistan, the runaway inflation, the border.”

Brian Smith works at a hospital in Des Moines. When Fox first spoke with him four years ago, he was undecided between Joe Biden and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, with healthcare driving his decision.

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“They all partially have really great answers. But I just don’t see the one,” Smith said four years ago.

Since 2020, he’s gotten married and works as a dietitian. He ultimately decided to caucus for President Biden and plans to support him again in the general election. But for the caucuses, he is considering participating with the Republicans.

“I have thought about looking at the landscape, who’s running, who’s on the Republican side? Is it worth my time, or is it worth putting my voice towards the Republican Party to see what we can do to change the direction we’ve been in,” Smith said.

Iowa allows caucus-goers to change their party affiliation on the day they attend. Smith says he wants to send a message with his caucus decision, and show is opposition to former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump participates in a Fox News Town Hall on January 10, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. 

“I know that he has some great ideas. I understand that, but the chaos that he’s left, it just disappoints me horribly,” Smith said. “We need someone who really is concerned about the common good. And Donald Trump just does not seem to have that in mind.”

Cody Stoos wants to see President Trump elected once again.

“When I’m thinking about who and what matters to me is kind of ignoring that outside noise and instead just focusing on things that could affect me,” Stoos said.

He was once a Barack Obama supporter but changed his affiliation to Republican, to support President Trump.

“A lot of push away from previous ideologies that I maybe had being an Obama supporter, seeing some of the effects of that presidency verses some of the positive effects that I actually experienced with my family under the Trump presidency,” Stoos said.

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Stoos likes the former president’s America First platform. He believes President Trump can ramp up domestic supply chains and address the border crisis.

“Putting our safety and security first and worrying about things that affect our day to day moneywise especially,” Stoos said when asked what the most important issues to him were.

Stoos’ wife is a school teacher and they have two kids. He believes President Trump’s policies are good for future generations.

“My role as a father is to take care of my family first and foremost,” Stoos said. “I see President Trump as doing the same thing for our country.”

Donald Trump arrives on stage during a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, US, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rachel Geilenfeld is the Iowa State chair of the Women for Nikki campaign and plans to caucus for the former Ambassador to the U.N. on Monday. She says she’s prepared for the expected frigid temperatures.

“I grew up in Iowa. It’s fine. It’s just another Monday,” Geilenfeld said.

She believes Haley is the best option to address issues like the national debt.

“I think many people are familiar with Nikki’s background as a U.N. ambassador, former governor. But one thing I really like about her personally, is her background as an accountant,” Geilenfeld said. “I think she’s a problem solver, and I really think that we need somebody to lead our country who has both the experience and the will to address the issue of the national debt.” 

Geilenfeld also believes Haley is the most electable candidate and will be able to move the country forward.

“I think voters are so tired of the dysfunction and vitriol in politics. I think one thing that Nikki represents is turning a page,” Geilenfeld explained. “We need somebody who is going to rise above some of this pettiness and really sit down at a table with adults and solve some of these issues.”

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If Haley is not the nominee, Geilenfeld says she’s unsure who she will vote for in the general election. She does believe the former South Carolina governor has done enough to win over Iowa caucus-goers.

“In Iowa, there are still some undecided voters,” Geilenfeld said. “We’ll see if [the weather] impacts a candidate who maybe has a huge lead in this race. But I would say Nikki’s supporters are very dedicated.”

Former President Trump, while speaking Sunday at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, on the day before the Iowa caucuses, said one of his Republican presidential nomination opponents, Nikki Haley, is not ready for the job.

Trump told the crowd there is a lack of loyalty in politics, adding that, to a lesser extent, there has been a lack of loyalty from Haley.

He explained that he gave Haley her position of U.N. ambassador when she was governor of South Carolina because he wanted then-Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster to be governor of the state.

“Nikki did a good job. She was out there, but she’s not ready to be president,” Trump said. “I know very well … and honestly, she’s not tough enough.”

WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS

Nikki Haley has been floated as a potential vice presidential running mate for former President Trump. (Getty Images)

The comments came hours after the former South Carolina governor issued a challenge to Trump during an interview with Fox News Digital ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses.

“It’s you and me now,” she said after the release of polls that showed her in second place against Trump and ahead of fellow GOP presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump maintains a commanding lead over the field, according to polling.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA. WILL IT PAY OFF?

Former President Trump says one of his Republican opponents for president, Nikki Haley, is not ready for the job. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall/File)

On Sunday morning, Fox News asked Trump if he thinks he’ll receive more than 50% of the vote in the caucuses.

“I don’t know, I think we are doing very well,” Trump said.

The former president is the commanding front-runner in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race as he makes his third straight White House bid.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign event in Iowa City on Jan. 13, 2024. (Alex Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He grabbed 50% support, or higher, in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. And he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucus goers that was released Saturday night.

His closest rivals – Haley and DeSantis – stood at 20% and 16%, respectively, in the new survey.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

The survey conducted by pollster Ann Selzer, which is closely watched and highly anticipated, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses and is considered by many as the gold standard for Iowa polling.

Paul Steinhauser and Andrew Murray of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

Fox News will be using its new, innovative election survey approach again during the 2024 primary season, the Fox News Voter Analysis. 

Together with the Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago, Fox News is conducting a survey of approximately 2,500 likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa to learn who they intend to support Monday night. 

Of course, that’s not all!  The survey also tells us why they are supporting that candidate.   

The survey questionnaire and results will be posted on foxnews.com after 8:00 PM/ET Monday, January 15. Earlier in the evening, after 5:00 PM/ET, you can see select FNVA survey results by following the Fox News Iowa GOP Caucuses blog.   

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS IOWA’S REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES APPROACH

Campaign signs supporting former US President Donald Trump on a table prior to remarks by Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions for Trump Organization Inc., not pictured, at the Machine Shed in Urbandale, Iowa, US, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (Al Drago)

For example, the gut reaction questions that show what caucus-goers look for in a candidate. How much do they prioritize the nominee having good policy ideas, empathy, or stamina? Or does it all come down to defeating President Joe Biden? 

How many want to see a complete change in how the country is run? And are those folks mostly backing former President Donald Trump or other candidates? 

IOWA’S RECORD-BREAKING COLD WILL AFFECT VOTER TURNOUT: JIM GERAGHTY

We’ll look at first-time caucus-goers and see who was able to motivate Iowans to go out in the freezing cold and give up hours of their Monday evening. That will help us get a sense of the campaigns’ ground games.

GRUNDY CENTER, IOWA – JANUARY 11: Campaign paraphernalia sits on a table as Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy holds a campaign stop at Chad’s Pizza and Restaurant on January 11, 2024, in Grundy Center, Iowa. (Joe Raedle)

Did Bob Vander Plaats’ endorsement persuade evangelical Christians to support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis? 

What about the top issue facing the country? Is it the economy? Immigration? Abortion? Foreign policy? And which foreign policy approach do voters prefer – one where the U.S. plays an ever-greater role overseas (as promoted by former South Carolina Gov. and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley) or one where the U.S. pulls back (as pushed by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy).  

AMES, IOWA – JANUARY 11: Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ on January 11, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential race when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson)

Also, whether Republicans will unite and support their nominee, whoever it is, or is there a chance the party will be split come November.

Our Fox News Voter Analysis survey will tell us that. And much more.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Here’s a detailed description of the FNVA 2024 methodology.

The remaining Republican presidential candidates have been fixated on Iowa for weeks ahead of the state’s crucial caucuses, as they seek to gain support from the voters who will be first to name a preferred nominee in the 2024 race.

But what exactly are the caucuses, and how do they work?

Every election cycle, tens of thousands of Iowans gather at caucus sites – known as precincts – across the state. In what will be the first contest in the wild race for the Republican presidential nomination, this year the highly anticipated event will take place on Monday, Jan. 15.

But unlike a primary – which is a traditional “one person, one vote” election – there is no casting of ballots in a caucus.

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS IOWA’S REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES APPROACH

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks to Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum at a town hall meeting hosted by Fox News in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 8, 2024. (Christian Monterrosa/Getty Images)

In Iowa, the action will take place at 1,657 precincts across the state – which will be held in school gymnasiums, church basements, union halls, community centers, libraries or any other place where people can gather. 

FIREBRAND HOUSE REPUBLICAN SEEING ‘MASSIVE SURGE’ FOR DESANTIS IN IOWA: ‘CLOSER THAN PEOPLE THINK’

Only registered Republicans are allowed to take part in the GOP caucuses, and 17-year-olds can caucus if they are of voting age by November’s general election.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic National Committee recently removed Iowa as the first state in the party’s early presidential nomination process.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Here’s how all the action plays out:

• Iowa Republicans will gather Monday at caucus sites
• They kick off at 7 p.m. CT
• Representatives from each of the presidential campaigns will make a short pitch for their candidate and then attendees cast secret ballots. That’s it! It’s much simpler than what the Democrats do.
• The results are then sent back to the Iowa GOP HQ in Des Moines
• It’s a closed contest, meaning the GOP caucuses are only open to registered Republicans in Iowa. However, Iowans can register or change their party affiliation on caucus day

DES MOINES, IA – Donald Trump is confident he’ll do “very well” in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, which lead off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar.

But the former president isn’t ready to make a prediction on if he’ll top 50%.

As he left his hotel in Des Moines on Sunday, Trump was asked by Fox News’ James Levinson about whether he would receive more than 50 % of the vote in the caucuses.

“I don’t know, I think we are doing very well,” Trump answered. The former president is the commanding front-runner in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run.

WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump grabbed 50% support, or higher, in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. And he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers was released Saturday night. His closest rivals – former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey.

The closely watched and highly anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and is considered by many as the gold standard in Iowa polling.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA – WILL IT PAY OFF ?

DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier, in a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” argued that “expectations are high for Trump…he’s got to perform. If he gets less than half the vote, more people voting against him than for him. I think that’s, you know, setting up doom down the road.”

And Haley, in an interview on the same program, noted that people will be looking to see if Trump “is falling below 50%.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, told Fox News “there are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now.”

“One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” noted Kochel, who remains neutral in the Republican presidential caucuses.

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

But Trump and his campaign have been attempting to downplay the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

Trump, speaking with reporters on Sunday, took aim at media attention over Iowa expectations.

“There seems to be something about 50% now. It doesn’t matter,” Trump argued. “I think they’re doing it so that they can set a high expectation. So if we end up with 49%, which would be about 25 points bigger than anyone else ever got. They can say he had a failure, it was a failure. You know fake news.”

While he takes aim at expectations, Trump is also urging his supporters to show up at the caucuses.

“Tomorrow, Jan. 15, I need each and every one of you to get out. Everybody get out. Just get out and vote,” Trump urged his supporters at a rally Sunday in Indianola, Iowa.

BLIZZARD DERAILS IOWA CAMAPIGN EVENTS, WILL BELOW ZERO TEMPS DEPRESS CAUCUS TURNOUT?

At an Iowa rally earlier this month, Trump touted to supporters that “we’re leading by 30 to 40 points.”

However, he added that “the poll numbers are scary because we’re leading by so much.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Terrace View Event Center in Sioux Center, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

 “We’re not taking any chances,” Trump emphasized as he took aim at potential complacency among his supporters. “The biggest risk is, you say you know what? He’s winning by so much, darling. Let’s stay home and watch television. Let’s watch this great victory. And if enough people do that, it’s not going to be pretty. But we’re not going to let that happen.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The Trump campaign in Iowa shifted into a higher gear weeks ago, and the former president picked up the pace of stops in the state. High profile surrogates have also parachuted into Iowa to campaign on the former president’s behalf. Additionally, the campaign trained nearly 2,000 caucus captains in precincts across the state. 

“Their sole job is to run each individual caucus that takes place and making sure that the list of the targeted voters supporting President Trump show up,” LaCivita highlighted.

The Donald Trump 2024 campaign Iowa headquarters, in Urbandale, Iowa on Jan. 14, 2024  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

“We’ve built an operation in over 1,800 caucus locations with straight up volunteers, neighborhood by neighborhood. They know the area and they know who’s caucusing in their area and they’ll be following up with them, making sure they vote,” he said. “Our focus and our premium has been on people.. and we think it’s going to bear fruit in a big way.”

The Trump campaign’s ground game operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. 

“Ted Cruz won in 2016 because his ground game was fantastic,” Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann, who remains neutral in the Republican nomination race, told Fox News.

Pointing to the 2024 Trump campaign, Kaufmann said “their ground game has increased immensely.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.