INDIANOLA, Iowa – So much for the cold that prevents Iowans from participating in the caucuses.
Monday night’s frigid weather was never going to stop 160 Republicans from piling into Emerson Elementary School in this rural pig-and-corn town just 15 miles south of downtown Des Moines.
“I don’t think people understand Iowans,” said Chris Nelson, a 39-year-old marketing executive who supports former President Donald Trump because he trusts him to close the border.
“This is just another January day for us.”
Disabled Vietnam veteran James Spiker, 75, shuffled in with his oxygen tank and walker, taking to heart Trump’s Sunday exhortation to voters to get out of their sick beds if that’s what it took. to participate in the caucus.
“Nothing would stop me from coming here to vote for Trump,” Spiker said. “He may not be a perfect man, but he knew what he was doing.”
Along with Nelson and Spiker, all other caucusgoers who spoke to The Post said stopping the increase in migration across the southern border was their top concern, followed by the economy.
Former President Donald Trump scored a victory in Iowa on Tuesday night. AP
Before each attendee wrote the name of their chosen candidate on a sheet of orange paper, they had one last chance to introduce their neighbors in hopes of winning over last-minute converts.
Five people spoke for Trump at Emerson Elemtary, led by Joani Estes, 60, who donned the official white baseball cap denoting her as “caucus captain” of the Trump campaign.
Estes read from a three-minute script provided by the Trump campaign that began: “I am here on behalf of the best president of our lifetime and the only candidate who can beat Joe Biden.”
Estes then added his own flourish at the end, to a round of applause: “Who do I want as the leader of my country?… I want a bad ass.”
Supporters react as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. AP
Three people defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including Josh Simmerman, a 35-year-old construction contractor with three children (ages 6, 4 and 18 months) who said he admired DeSantis for “standing up to Disney… when we were trying to infiltrate the minds of our children.”
Simmerman also said he wanted a young president after the 2024 election.
“All of us here are sick and tired of seeing Biden being carried off the stage and stumbling up stairs,” he said. “Everyone knows that when you reach 80 things go downhill and you are no longer functional.
“It takes a great, really mature leader to say, ‘It’s not my time to be in the spotlight anymore. I’m going to strengthen the next generation of leaders,’” Simmerman continued. “It takes a self-centered person to say, ‘He’s mine, only I can do it.'”
Two men defended Vivek Ramaswamy, arguing that he would shut down federal agencies like the FBI.
Trump gestures after speaking at a caucus site at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. AP
No one spoke on behalf of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Finally it was time to vote, and as he did in the rest of the state, Trump won with 85 votes (53%, if you don’t do the math).
In a distant second place was DeSantis with 43 votes, then Ramaswamy (16 votes) and then Haley (15 votes).
Businessman, pastor, and future Texas trivia question answerer Ryan Binkley received just one vote.
As Indianola Republicans braved the cold, Yvonne Budd, 88, was pleased with the outcome.
“I think Trump is the only one tough enough, smart enough and business sense enough to get us out of this mess,” he said.
At least on Monday night, Yvonne had plenty of company.
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