Front Runner Donald Trump is. Forecast to be the coldest iowa caucuses ever. Voters will be battling dangerous sub zero temps with windchills as low as Minus 40 degrees, to get out and caucus, take a live look at des moines, iowa, where the high today is negative one. Trump is holding a virtual Tele Rally after canceling several rallies over the weekend because of the frigid weather. These could be make or break for ron desantis, and hes keeping his Ground Game going, crisscrossing the state with several campaign events. We have Team Coverage this morning with correspondents on the ground in iowa. Lets start with the aforementioned Kasie Hunt in des moines. Candidates taking the cold seriously. How are the campaigns adapting in the final hours . Well, were all just trying to get by. I spent a couple of minutes outside, and with the tips of my fingers exposed and i got to tell you, i think the feeling has been regained in them 10 minutes or 15 minutes after i walked back inside
cnn s kristen holmes is in iowa with the latest. reporter: good morning, victor and amara. donald trump and his team s message is twofold, one is get out and caucus no matter what, ignore the weather, and the other is to temper down expectations. they know polls have had him up leading by a margin of 30 points, they do not believe the margin will be that big. senior advisers continue to say anything over a 12-point win would be a historic win. you have to remember that a win is a win, but what his team is trying to do is set the momentum for the primary season. and also to offset any momentum that some of his rivals might have. we know they are concerned about nikki haley, particularly in new hampshire, both the campaign and the super pac are spending $4.5 million advertising against haley already, particularly on immigration. now, it was clear during his tele-rally that haley is still on donald trump s mind. take a listen to what he said. i know nicki very well.
addressed his maga supporters at an in-person earlier today. at this hour, holding a tele-rally after canceling his in-person events due to extreme weather conditions. three other candidates are also raising to the finish with campaign events later this evening. iowa republicans will be participating and one of the coldest caucuses in modern history, with wind chills up to minus 45 degrees. now, look. we know iowans are used to bitter cold and snow, so it s unclear how the sub-zero temperatures will affect turnout. but thanks to a new poll conducted by nbc news, the des moines register and media calm, we have some insight into which way caucus goers are leaning. disgraced former president maintains a commanding lead against his opponents, receiving 48% of the support. coming in as a not close second, but gaining ground, former south carolina governor nikki
a warnock win would give democrats a 51 to 49 majority in the senate, not only breathing room, flood protection for the president and his agenda from the republican-controlled house. jeff zeleny joins us from georgia. trump recruited walker to run for senate in georgia. what role has he played in walker s campaign, in this runoff period? he hasn t been visiting during it. anderson, that s right, it s been largely an absent role. in fact, diminished to calling in tonight to a tele-rally. what that, is just trying to fire up his base supporters. he s not been seen in public, not even been heard from in public. the reality is, it s been very much a double-edged sword. yes, herschel walker needs the support of the trump base. it s being used by democrats to
drive up their support. senator raphael warnock the democratic incumbent was calling herschel walker, is appointed to the, handpicked candidate of donald trump today. trying to use him to fire him up. on that phone call tonight, with a supporters, the former president said herschel walker is the last line of defense against president biden, trying to cast this race, even though it control of the senate doesn t depend on it as a check against the white house. he said if herschel walker is elected, it ll make chuck schumer s life more miserable. that s a stake they re not talking about control of the senate, as they hope they would be. jeff zeleny, i appreciate it. i want to get perspective from georgia lieutenant governor, jeff duncan, a republican who sat on this program he could not bring himself to vote for the walker or warnock campaign. lieutenant, appreciate you being with us. how likely how does trump, former president trump, play in this? do the rewards of a phone call to a