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
it is 4:00 here in new york, 3:00 p.m. in des moines where in just a few hours, the doors will open at caucus locations across the state. and the first votes will be cast in the 2024 election. voters going to the polls today in 1600 precincts across all of iowa s 99 counties will do it in some of the most brutal conditions imaginable. tonight could be the coldest iowa caucus ever. windchills could gets a low as 45 degrees farenheit, that is freezing. that brutal cold is putting a damper on what is normally a frenzy of campaigning. trump campaign and haley campaign canceled three events, but it doesn t mean candidates aren t asking people to get out and vote. ex-president said even if you vote and then pass away, it is worth it. yes? he really said that. there is no early voting and no mail-in ballot, so all of it comes to turnout tonight. the last nbc des moines register poll released last night shows trump with a commanding 28 point lead. if he wins by anything close to th
on that list. and voters in this notoriously independent state tell me they are just waiting for her to prove that she can do it. so can she? if you add chris christie s support to hers here in new hampshire, the math is close. we have the narrow paths you could follow out of the granite state with the atlantic s mark leibovich, but before she goes anywhere, she s got to make it through tonight s caucus where it is 0 degrees and getting colder. joining us now from des moines, iowa, is nbc news correspondent ali vitali, staff writer at the atlantic and msnbc political contributor, mark leibovich, and here on set with me is nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster. ali, i m so happy to see you inside on this very very cold day. tell me what nikki haley is doing in the last moments before this caucus tonight? she s making the rounds still, katy. on the campaign trail circuit. specifically in the area that sort of makes a doughnut around des moines. and that s because her focu
It dates to about 1923. Its just an incredible place. They just celebrated their 100 years as you can see right here, go bulldogs. Theyre ail going to come down these stairs. The caucus is a little different from the democratic caucus which no longer happens and everybody is in the same room. Here theres 22 different precincts is whats known as a super caucus location. Everybody from the different parts of this county are going to come down this hallway into classrooms, as a matter of fact. So, for instance, theres classroom 120 right over here. Usually you can see on the walls here, its a spanish classroom. This evening it is going to be a singular precinct location. Youre going to take your ballot, put it in a Ballot Box and count those ballots in this room. This is not where the official results are tabulated. That happens over here. Come with me. Ultimately, this place, like it was back in 2016 May very well prove interesting to the results and important to look at
it dates to about 1923. it s just an incredible place. they just celebrated their 100 years as you can see right here, go bulldogs. they re ail going to come down these stairs. the caucus is a little different from the democratic caucus which no longer happens and everybody is in the same room. here there s 22 different precincts is what s known as a super caucus location. everybody from the different parts of this county are going to come down this hallway into classrooms, as a matter of fact. so, for instance, there s classroom 120 right over here. usually you can see on the walls here, it s a spanish classroom. this evening it is going to be a singular precinct location. you re going to take your ballot, put it in a ballot box and count those ballots in this room. this is not where the official results are tabulated. that happens over here. come with me. ultimately, this place, like it was back in 2016 may very well prove interesting to the results and important to look at.