including the weather right now. it is here. decision day in iowa. good afternoon. i am erin burnett in washington. i am in new york. we want to welcome you to live coverage of the iowa caucuses. we are counting down to the official start of the first contest in the republican presidential race. we want to confuse people. washington, you are in new york. everybody, get ready. the battle for iowa taking place against those record cold temperatures we have been talking about. some places in iowa, the real feel temperature is 35 below zero, which has not stopped the candidates in a contest all about turnout trying to get every single person out they can. these final hours, they have been making one case for the candidacies. we know that this is how we are going to get our country on track. remember, today is the day we make history. i am running on your issues and family issues to turn this country around. here is what is interesting. you did not see trump, right? he
The site. Will it be enough . Joining me now is a republican political owner who backs Ron Desantis. Dan, you and i talked many times over the years. Obviously in recent months, you have been a supporter of Ron Desantis. We are a few hours out from people showing up at these sites. How do you feel about the Campaign Tonight . I feel good. I think we are in the position of being the underdog and i think he has done all the work in the ground, unlike donald trump. He has done a huge amount of events and i think expectations are skyhigh for the others and Ron Desantis is set up for a Come Back here. Set up for a Come Back. I will say people have really his ground game. Hes been to 99 counties. He has in the work and done it right. His numbers have not moved since the beginning, right . The fact that they went down a few points in the registered poll that came out. Where do you stand on this
Is third acceptable to you . Does he continue if he comes in at third or not . I think he does continue. Hes got a Town Hall and a lot of things scheduled. He is heading to South Carolina Tonight after he addresses supporters. Really, i think youre going to be surprised tonight. If you look at the pool, theres a lot of good news for ron desantis. His supporters have the highest level of enthusiasm and are the most likely to turnout tonight. Hes not expecting to Democrat Votes like Nikki Haley is tonight. I think we are in a good position to defy expectations and overcome what the polls may suggest. Obviously, we do not know. The boats have not been cast. We will see tonight. A reporter on the ground just had a conversation i wanted share with you. It really stood out to me. She spoke to a longtime iowa
Republican party. He got 100 of what he campaign on when running for governor in florida done since he was elected. That is the kind of leadership i think we need. A lot of politicians are good at this Campaign Stuff and then failed to produce. Ron desantis is an okay campaigner and good at producing once he is in office. I think a lot of these voters in iowa have been up close and met Ron Desantis and i think we are going to defy expectations tonight. We will see what happens. I appreciate your time, thanks. Our special coverage continues after this. We are following Breaking News out of israel this afternoon. Hamas is celebrating two terror attacks today. We are learning of a new video featuring hostages. The family of paul whelan, the american who is being held in russia. What happened to his sister. Clear mac
Without a Doubt But Tonight we start counting the delegates. Everybody starts at zero. Hes at the top when it comes to expectations but we could start this tonight. The process starts tonight. It is always worth winning a partys nomination. The republican nomination is well worth winning because of this. As we start the cycle, its important to note the democrats are not doing any real Business Tonight but the incoming president of the united states, joe biden. 38 approval rating. That is weak. The process to win the White House and start a historically weak place which is why winning iowa matters so much and this is why as we go through this tonight, the biggest question is how strong is trump . Are there any signs of vulnerability . That is what we will be looking for when we come the boats. It is hard to make comparisons to the past in some senses. Trump who is really not an incumbent. It is different in many ways. Is there anything that you can