exactly one hour away from the first major test of the 2024 g.o.p. primary season. the iowa caucuses. now, more than 1600 caucuses across 99 counties, you can believe it or not. i have been covering to iowa for years covering these caucuses. this year isn t just the coldest, but also has the most riding on it. i will explain what is really at stake in moments. but, first, we have reporters at the headquarters of all the major candidates. first to trump s right here in des moines where fox news senior national correspondent rich edson is standing by. rich? rich: you know, laura, it s cold it s icy. some of the roads are impassable. they have talked to the weather all day long here. we talked to the candidates how that plays into the campaign. they say look, all the campaigns are dealing with this. one campaign aid said, look, we have the most dedicated campaign base in the history of american politics. we re not worried about our folks showing up. speaking of showing up, for
even if you vote and then pass away, it s worth it. i know it s cold, but we need you out there. i know it s going to get even colder and we re in. we re showing up. in nbc s news partnership with the des moines register poll, donald trump has an unprecedented lead of nearly 30 points. never before seen such a big lead in this caucus. with all eyes on the battle for second place, nikki haley has moved ahead of ron desantis for the first time in the poll, but she may have peaked too soon. more on that in a moment. we ll have a full breakdown in moments and talk to the governor of new hampshire. rnor of new hampshire good day, everyone. it s here. it s the first voting day of the 2024 election. i m andrea mitchell in washington. this martin luther king day is also caucus day in iowa. the first of the nation presidential nominating contest of 2024. more than 1600 hall rs gearing up through iowa s 99 counties. there s no early voting, no mail-in ballots so it s all about
good day. i m chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. devastatingly cold weather is making these caucuses even more unpredictable in a state known for surprises. we have the latest on former president trump s bid to run away with a win tonight and the fight facing the other candidates to have a strofrng enough showing to stay in the race. we ve got the latest straight ahead. plus, congress on the clock again. with just four days to go before a government shutdown, leaders of both parties float a plan to keep the lights on, but there s a catch. conservatives hate it. so will that sink it? iranian-backed rebels refusing to back down despite dozens of u.s. air strikes against their home base. another u.s.-owned ship attacked just a few hours ago in the red sea. this time they actually hit it. so how is the u.s. going to respond? a lot to get to on this very busy day. we start in iowa where the first votes in what will almost certainly be one of the wildest
good deal. see you later. j good evening. i m bret baier we are coming to you live from frigid iowa. for the 2024 presidential cycle. thousands of iowans gathering in homes, schools, churches to make their voices heard in meetings known as caucuses. they are doing this in spite of incredibly cold temperatures, hostile weather conditions throughout the state. we have fox team coverage. some of them are out there, including the latest information from our fox voter analysis just in. bill melugin is at the ron desantis headquarters in west des moines. asha has my is at the des moines headquarters nikki haley. we begin with senior national correspondent rich edson at the bales of operations for former president donald trump. good evening, rich. rich: good evening, bret. former trump says locked in tonight and campaign has every precinct in the state covered. is he going to visit one of those caucus sites tonight before coming here to watch party in des moines. trump, for mont
and she s already told me that if it s snowing or ice you re going to come pick-me-up in your four-wheel drive pickup. we know what cold weather is, just have to warm the car up and put another coat on. the weather never stopped us, blizzards, cold, rain, snow, it doesn t make any difference. neil: they re a hearty bunch, the iowans. but not the airport. and there s great food. that was not meant to be and we had to stay in new york, which isn t a bad alternative, it s beautiful here, but the backdrop in midtown manhattan is slightly different than the beautiful state of iowa and des moines where we will be because we re flowing out after this show for the big event on monday and all weekend coverage. in the meantime, there s this nasty cold wave that you ve heard a lot about, not only affecting iowa. in michigan, it s one doozy of a storm and certainly record low temperatures and in grand rapids, max. it s not as cold as iowa, but chilly temperatures in the 20 s and qu