affiliated groups as well as business groups, farm associations, parent groups, young professional organizations, religious groups and conservative advocacy organizations. guests of mr. ramaswamy and grand view university are here tonight but they won t ask questions. we have asked everyone here to be respectful to each other and mr. ramaswamy so the voters in the room and at home have a chance to hear from the candidate. please, welcome vivek ramaswamy. [ applause ] i want to get right to the audience and bring simone from cli clive, iowa. she served on the board of a christian school. she s undecided. thank you. first of all, welcome to iowa. merry christmas from iowa. thank you. thank you for really adding some important conversations to the campaign. some local commentators refer to you as maybe the younger trump, not a politician, which would place you running in the same lane as president trump for getting votes. other than being younger, how would you differentia
[applause] good evening and welcome to iowa, where in just 34 days, caucus goers here will cast the very first votes of the 2024 presidential race. we are live at grand view university and des moines for cnn s town hall, with florida governor ron desantis. i am jake tapper. and right now, the presidential hopefuls are furiously campaigning to win over republicans here in iowa, it s a state that can make or break presidential candidates. governor desantis has visited all 99 of iowa s counties, and he won the endorsement of the state s popular governor, kim reynolds. but, he is facing steep competition from his rivals including the republican front runner, former president donald trump. tonight s event is about the voters. governor desantis will have the opportunity to answer questions directly from the iowans in this room, on the issues that will help them determine who wins the republican nomination. i will have some questions of my own, but this is not an interview, th
this race, former president donald trump. first up tonight, gov er in ron desantis, who is aiming for a strong showing in iowa with the support of the state s governor. he ll answer questions from iowans on the issues that help determine who wins the republican nomination. and i will have questions of my own. and the audience here with me tonight are voters who plan to participate in the iowa republican caucuses, both registered republicans and voter who is plan to register as republicans. to find tonight s questioners, we cast a wide net, soliciting help from various organizations, including business groups, farm associations, parent groups, young professional organizations, religious groups, and conservative advocacy organizations. guests of the desantis campaign and grand view university are also here in the audience tonight, but they won t be asking any questions. we ve asked everyone here to be respectful to each other and to governor desantis. so, voters in the room and you at ho
so to find tonight s question, as we cast a widening. we reached out to help for various organizations, including business groups, farm associations, parent groups, young professional organizations, religious groups, and conservative advocacy organizations. now guests of the haley campaign and university are also the audience tonight. but i do want to note, they will not be asking questions. we ve got everyone here to be respectful to each other, and to governor haley, so that everyone here in this room and everyone watching at home has a chance to hear from the candidate. now please welcome governor nikki haley. [applause] [inaudible] all right, so i want to start today with, getting ready this morning for this town hall, governor, and something crossed our wires, a shooting, a school shooting. and here we are, with kids back a day or two days, and a another horrific event in this
republican caucuses, both registered republicans and voters who plan to register as republicans, which it s important to note is allowed as late as caucus night right here in iowa. so to find tonight s questioners, we cast a wide net. we reached out for help to various organizations, including business groups, farm associations, parent groups, young referral organizations, religious groups and conservative advocacy organizations. now guests of the haley campaign and grandview university are also in the audience tonight, but i want to note they will not be asking questions. we asked everyone to be respectable to each other and governor haley so that everyone here in this room and everyone watching at home has a chance to hear from the candidate. now please welcome governor nikki haley. [ applause ] thank you.