US presidential election heats up in frigid Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — Voting was set to begin on Monday night in icy Iowa as former US president Donald Trump eyes a victory that would send a resounding message that neither life-threatening cold nor life-changing legal trouble can slow his march toward the Republican Party's 2024 nomination.

His top rivals, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are banking on good showings in Iowa to puncture Trump's air of inevitability. But the extreme cold could scramble those calculations by suppressing voter turnout.

At a rally in Indianola, Trump urged his supporters to dress warmly and joked that single attendees might meet their future spouses if they show up on Monday night.

"You can't sit home … Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it," Trump said to laughter. More than 500 supporters wearing trademark red baseball hats as well as heavy coats, earmuffs and boots had packed into the venue.

The highly regarded NBC News/Des Moines Register poll has Trump at 48 percent among likely caucus-goers, with Haley surging into second place but still only at 20 percent.

"I'm voting for Trump again,"37-year-old trucker Jeff Nikolas told Agence France-Presse, adding that "he may be bullheaded, but he can actually get stuff done".

Haley posted a video of herself speaking outside next to a mound of snow as the wind blew through her hair. "I know it's cold, but we need you out there," Haley said. "Let's finish this strong."

The poll was more bad news for DeSantis, who scored just 16 percent and has seen his claim to be the heir apparent to the post-Trump Republican Party eclipsed by Haley.

But DeSantis insisted on Sunday that his "very motivated" backers would turn out in sufficient numbers to vote, open only to registered Republicans.

Dangerous conditions

With the coldest temperatures in caucus history expected and dangerous travel conditions in virtually every corner of the rural state, the campaigns are bracing for a low-turnout contest that will test the strength of their support and their organizational muscle.

The final result will serve as a powerful signal for the rest of the nomination fight to determine who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November general election.

The ultimate nominee will not be confirmed until the party's national convention in July, but with big wins in the opening contests, Trump will be difficult to stop.

Agencies via Xinhua