Votes are counted during a caucus to choose a Republican presidential candidate, at Fellows Elementary School, in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 15,CHENEY ORR/Reuters
Donald Trump has won a thundering victory in Iowa, steamrolling opponents in the first contest of the Republican nominating process and raising the possibility he could soon have the race for the party’s 2024 presidential nod sewn up.
Voters braved -20 C conditions and icy roads to give the former president about 51 per cent of the vote Monday evening, far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador, who finished with 21 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailed in single digits.
Mr. Trump’s record-breaking margin reinforces his dominance of the Republican Party and may squeeze the others out of the race as they struggle to raise enough money to continue. The action now moves on to New Hampshire, which votes next week, followed by Nevada and South Carolina next month.
“This is really time for everybody, for our country, to come together,” Mr. Trump told supporters in Des Moines, the state’s capital and only big city, before uncharacteristically congratulating Mr. DeSantis, Ms. Haley and Mr. Ramaswamy on their campaigns. “They’re all very smart people, very capable people.”
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he visits a caucus site at Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, on Jan. 15.SERGIO FLORES/Reuters
In his caucus night speech, Mr. DeSantis declared he’d got his “ticket punched out of Iowa” and vowed to continue in the race. “I will not let you down,” he said.
Ms. Haley, meanwhile, pointed to her significant polling leads over Mr. DeSantis in New Hampshire and South Carolina to paint herself as the only viable challenger to Mr. Trump. She characterized Mr. Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden as a pair of unpopular old men whose time had passed.
“I have made this Republican primary a two-person race,” she said as results rolled in. “Our campaign is the last, best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare.”
Mr. Ramaswamy, who campaigned on outlandish promises such as building a wall on the Canadian border and embraced the white nationalist great replacement conspiracy theory, ended his campaign and endorsed Mr. Trump.
Despite intensive campaigning and some US$300-million in advertising spending in Iowa, the end result resembled polling averages from months ago, suggesting voters had already largely made up their minds about Mr. Trump. Several high-profile candidates even abandoned the race before the vote.
A state of 3.2 million best known for its insurance and agriculture industries, Iowa was battered over the week before the vote by a string of blizzards that curtailed campaigning. Its caucus voting format, which requires everyone to cast ballots at in-person meetings, also further pushed down turnout amid the coldest caucus night in history.
While Mr. Trump’s competitors engaged in the traditional town-hall campaigning style Iowa is famous for, the former president stuck to his preferred format of large rallies. He also missed much campaign time to attend legal proceedings in New York and Washington. It was a possible preview of the coming year, as he faces 91 criminal charges across four trials for trying to overturn the 2020 election, absconding with classified documents and falsifying business records.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks to voters a a caucus site at Franklin Junior High on Jan. 15, in Des Moines, Iowa.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Jan. 15.Nick Rohlman/The Associated Press
None of that, however, seemed to matter much. Many of his supporters believe conspiratorial claims that the Democrats rigged the election, staged the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and framed Mr. Trump for it.
“That was the only way they could win, if they came up with the charges,” said Kristine Baldwin, a real estate broker, as she sat in the audience of a Trump campaign event at a Baptist church in Marion, Iowa, a few days before the vote.
Ms. Haley is the de facto candidate of the Republican establishment, staking out positions – pro-big business, pro-military aid to Ukraine – that contrast with the nationalistic bent of Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis.
She will be hoping for a better result in New Hampshire, a more moderate state where Democratic and independent voters may cross party lines to support her against Mr. Trump. Her aim is for an upset result next week, which gives her enough momentum to stay in the hunt until larger, more diverse states vote later in the process.
Sitting in the audience at one of her rallies, Jody Strand mulled whether he could support Mr. Trump if Ms. Haley didn’t get the nomination. His priority in the election, he said, was getting rid of the Biden administration, which he blamed for the high inflation of recent years.
“We need change, anything but what we’re doing right now, to get the country back to work,” Mr. Strand, 61, said. “I don’t think anyone likes Trump but they all liked the economy.”
Mr. DeSantis had high hopes of winning Iowa, where he bet that his culture warrior reputation would appeal to the large voting bloc of Christian evangelicals. Mr. DeSantis banned discussions of LGBTQ issues and structural racism in Florida schools. He also sold himself as aligned with Mr. Trump on policy but more competent at carrying it out.
At a campaign rally in Ankeny, an affluent suburb of the state capital, Des Moines, the night before the vote, Mr. DeSantis excoriated the former president for failing to implement a string of 2016 campaign promises: building a border wall and making Mexico pay for it; stripping citizenship from the U.S.-born children of undocumented migrants; and paying down government debt.
“He did not deliver,” Mr. DeSantis said. “That’s not draining the swamp, that’s filling the swamp.”
Ken Wilson, a 69-year-old retired financial adviser, said he liked Mr. DeSantis’s action on “cultural issues” and effectiveness at getting things done.
“He has proven the ability to lead. When he says he’ll be ready on Day One, I really believe that,” Mr. Wilson said as he stood in the crowd at the Ankeny rally. “I voted for Trump twice but he never had that in place. It was chaos. We don’t need any more of that.”
The rally had an ominous sign for Mr. DeSantis: Most of the audience was filled with the candidate’s out-of-state staffers and volunteers, along with a phalanx of national political reporters, underscoring his difficulty in winning over Iowans.
To many of those staying loyal to Mr. Trump, his personality is just as important as his politics. His unfiltered style, they said, along with his decision to get into politics when he could have retired as a wealthy TV host, convinced them of his authenticity.
“Nobody owns him,” said Roger West, 53, as he covered his ears with his hands against -27 temperatures in a lineup outside a Trump rally in Indianola, Iowa, the day before the vote. “I trust him.”
Donald Trump secured a resounding win in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Jan. 15, asserting his command over the party with an unprecedented lead over his two closest rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
Moe is set to speak in the city of Yorkton about affordability measures this morning before travelling to the nearby village of Theodore for an event with the local Saskatchewan Party candidate.
NDP Leader Carla Beck doesn’t have any events scheduled, though several party candidates are to hold press conferences.
On Thursday, Moe promised a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected.
The NDP said the Saskatchewan Party was punching down on vulnerable children.
Election day is Oct. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is promising a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected, a move the NDP’s Carla Beck says weaponizes vulnerable kids.
Moe made the pledge Thursday at a campaign stop in Regina. He said it was in response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.
He said the ban would be his first order of business if he’s voted again as premier on Oct. 28.
It was not previously included in his party’s campaign platform document.
“I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said.
He added school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial directive would ensure all have the rule in place.
Asked about the rights of gender-diverse youth, Moe said other children also have rights.
“What about the rights of all the other girls that are changing in that very change room? They have rights as well,” he said, followed by cheers and claps.
The complaint was made at a school with the Prairie Valley School Division. The division said in a statement it doesn’t comment on specific situations that could jeopardize student privacy and safety.
“We believe all students should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and welcoming learning environment,” it said.
“Our policies and procedures align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.”
Asked about Moe’s proposal, Beck said it would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable.
Moe is desperate to stoke fear and division after having a bad night during Wednesday’s televised leaders’ debate, she said.
“Saskatchewan people, when we’re at our best, are people that come together and deliver results, not divisive, ugly politics like we’ve seen time and again from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Beck said.
“If you see leaders holding so much power choosing to punch down on vulnerable kids, that tells you everything you need to know about them.”
Beck said voters have more pressing education issues on their minds, including the need for smaller classrooms, more teaching staff and increased supports for students.
People also want better health care and to be able to afford gas and groceries, she added.
“We don’t have to agree to understand Saskatchewan people deserve better,” Beck said.
The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.
The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.
Beck has said if elected her party would repeal that legislation.
Heather Kuttai, a former commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission who resigned last year in protest of the law, said Moe is trying to sway right-wing voters.
She said a change room directive would put more pressure on teachers who already don’t have enough educational support.
“It sounds like desperation to me,” she said.
“It sounds like Scott Moe is nervous about the election and is turning to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric to appeal to far-right voters.
“It’s divisive politics, which is a shame.”
She said she worries about the future of gender-affirming care in a province that once led in human rights.
“We’re the kind of people who dig each other out of snowbanks and not spew hatred about each other,” she said. “At least that’s what I want to still believe.”
Also Thursday, two former Saskatchewan Party government members announced they’re endorsing Beck — Mark Docherty, who retired last year and was a Speaker, and Glen Hart, who retired in 2020.
Ian Hanna, a speech writer and senior political adviser to former Saskatchewan Party premier Brad Wall, also endorsed Beck.
Earlier in the campaign, Beck received support from former Speaker Randy Weekes, who quit the Saskatchewan Party earlier this year after accusing caucus members of bullying.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:
Saskatchewan Party
— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.
— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.
— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.
— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.
— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.
— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.
— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults
— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.
— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.
— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.
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NDP
— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.
— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.
— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.
— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.
— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.
— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.
— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.
— Scrap the marshals service.
— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.
— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.
