Follow along as our reporters deliver live coverage from the Grinnell, Montezuma and Brooklyn precincts. As we speak with voters, we will be regularly updating this page with insights on which candidate they support and which issues are motivating their preference.
To view the Scarlet & Black’s live caucus coverage on X, formerly Twitter, click here. For more information about the candidates, click here.
UPDATE: The Associated Press has declared Trump the winner of the Iowa caucuses, with DeSantis in second and Haley in third. Ramaswamy dropped out of the race after placing a distant fourth.
Results:
Poweshiek County: Donald Trump with 51.8% of the vote, Ron DeSantis with 23.4%, Nikki Haley with 15.4%, Vivek Ramaswamy with 8.1% and Hutchinson 0.2%.
Grinnell Precinct Ward 1: Trump with 13 votes, DeSantis with 5, Haley with 11, Ramaswamy with 1 and none for the other candidates.
Grinnell Precinct Ward 2: Trump with 27 votes, DeSantis with 30, Haley with 15, Ramaswamy with 6 and none for the other candidates.
Grinnell Precinct Ward 3: Trump with 15 votes, DeSantis with 9, Haley with 2, Ramaswamy with 3 and none for the other candidates.
Grinnell Precinct Ward 4: Trump with 18 votes, DeSantis with 9, Haley with 12, Ramaswamy with 1, Asa Hutchinson with 1, Ryan Binkley with 1 vote and none for the other candidates.
Grinnell Precinct CGWS: Trump with 42 votes, DeSantis with 21, Haley with 11, Ramaswamy with 8, Binkley with 1 and none for the other candidates.
Montezuma: Trump with 33 votes, DeSantis with 8, Haley with 5, Ramaswamy with 8 and none for the other candidates.
Brooklyn: Trump with 60 votes, DeSantis with 17, Haley with 16, Ramaswamy with 6, Binkley with 1 and Chris Christie with 1.
Grinnell Precinct
Sarah Evans, Eliza Cline and Sam Bates are reporting live from Grinnell High School.
6:33 p.m. — We spoke to Eugene Heywood, a retired real estate agent from Chicago, who said he was supporting Donald Trump due to rampant corruption from current Democrats.”Joe Biden is a disgrace. It’s that simple,” he said of the current president.
7:00 p.m. — The various wards shut their doors and asked members to be seated.
7:05 p.m. — Ken Philips led the CGWS ward in a straw poll.
7:19 p.m. — The results of the straw poll in Ward 1 were released with the winner being Trump with 13 votes. Haley came in second with 11 votes, DeSantis came third with 5 votes, Ramaswamy received 1 vote and the remaining candidates received none.
Montezuma Precinct
Eleanor Corbin and Zach Spindler-Krage are reporting live from the Poweshiek County Courthouse.
6:06 p.m. — Jacki Bolen, former mayor of Montezuma and candidate for Poweshiek County supervisor, said that she has seen as few as two people show up on caucus night.
6:18 p.m. — We talked to the precinct’s Trump caucus captain, Brooklyn City Clerk Sheri Sharer, who said that it was her first time caucusing. “The country needs it,” she said, explaining why she decided to caucus this year. “Promises made, promises kept,” she said of Trump’s presidency. “The economy is awful” under President Biden, she said.
6:31 p.m. — Over 20 people have filed into the small caucus room with 10 more waiting in line — already a strong showing considering Montezuma’s small population of 1,400. At least a dozen are wearing Trump apparel.
6:36 p.m. — Caucus leaders have started to add more chairs to the room. It appears that it will be standing room only by the time things are underway at 7 p.m.
6:49 p.m. — With 10 minutes until the caucus, there are 51 people in the room talking amongst themselves. The most common conversations we are overhearing are either about Trump or the weather.
6:53 p.m. — Rodney Morse, a 47-year-old member of the military, said he is supporting Vivek. “I imagine Trump will probably be the guy when it’s said and done, but I want to support him [Ramaswamy] just to show, ‘hey, this can be an up-and-coming star,'” he said. He is here with his fiance, father, son-in-law and daughter.
7:00 p.m. — The caucus is underway. Sandy Ross is leading the agenda after being elected permanent caucus chair. Megan Tindle was elected secretary. The agenda began with the pledge of allegiance.
7:10 p.m. — Sharer delivered a pre-written speech in support of Trump. “We’re past the point of putting one of these conservatives in we think may do a good job. We absolutely must go with the tried and true proven success,” she said. Nearly the entire room applauded.
7:14 p.m. — Craig McKee, who spoke on behalf of DeSantis, said that he is not necessarily supporting DeSantis tonight, but that he enjoyed attending DeSantis’ event in Des Moines in July, saying, “It was a real pleasure listening to him speak, he could do it very well. I would like to see DeSantis in the administration.”
7:16 p.m. — McKee also spoke on behalf of Haley, saying she may not be prepared for the presidency, but, “The heart is in the right place organizationally … I would vote for her if she made the nominee.”
7:18 p.m. — Bolen spoke on behalf of the Ramaswamy campaign as she donned a shirt saying, “Save Trump. Vote Vivek.” She said, “I’m asking you to open your eyes to the hard truth. They are not going to let Donald Trump anywhere near that White House … But our America First movement cannot end with Donald Trump.”
7:20 p.m. — Attendees have begun voting after ballots were passed out by the caucus chair.
7:29 p.m. — The results were announced with 33 votes for Trump, 8 for DeSantis, 8 for Ramaswamy, 5 for Haley and none for the other candidates.
Brooklyn Precinct
Taylor Nunley and Nick El Hajj are reporting live from Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Community High School.
6:18 p.m. — Voters have started filing into Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcolm Community High School, with a showing of roughly 25 people so far.
6:45 p.m. — Austin Nicholish, 29, said his candidate of choice tonight is Ramaswamy. Nicholish said he thinks the caucus results tonight are going to be surprising. He said, “I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised with Vivek coming in … I think he’s going to be a good alternative for people not liking the obnoxious nature of politics.”
6:49 p.m. — Energy at the high school has started to ramp up with over 80 people in attendance.
6:53 p.m. — Daryl Brown, 63, of Brooklyn had a simple reason for supporting Trump as his candidate tonight. “He fixed the country once and they screwed it up, so he’s got to try to fix it again,” he said.
7:10 p.m. — Joel Nielsen, speaking on behalf of Haley for the presidential nomination, says there has been a “lack of honor” in the country recently. “Nikki Haley is the candidate in this field that can bring honor back to the White House,” Nielsen said.
7:16 p.m. — Following a speech from Tommy Gregory on behalf of DeSantis, voters began casting their ballots. There were no speakers for Trump, Ramaswamy or the other candidates.
7:28 p.m. — Results were announced with 60 votes for Trump, DeSantis with 17, Haley with 16, Ramaswamy with 6, Binkley with 1 and Christie with 1.
7:29 p.m. — The room erupted in applause after Trump’s final count was read out with one caucus attendee yelling, “Smart Iowans!”
7:36 p.m. — Following Brooklyn’s vote results, Nielsen said he did whatever he could for Haley. “Nikki Haley has more experience in government than Donald Trump,” Nielsen said regarding regarding Trump’s comment that DeSantis and Haley are “not up to the job.” “I think she is up to the task,” he continued.
7:43 p.m. — Diana Hanson, the chair for the caucus in Brooklyn reported 101 voters braved the freezing conditions and turned out at the precinct today. She remembered 120 voters turning out to a past caucus with normal temperatures. “I’m pleasantly surprised that we almost matched that,” Hansons said.
