Canceled flights, snowy roads, postponed campaign meetings… A winter storm sowed chaos on Friday, January 12, in the American state of Iowa, three days before the first electoral meeting of the year for the Republicans.
On January 15, this Midwestern state must open the primaries, of which Donald Trump is the big favorite… if voters can travel to vote. Because the entire state is swept by a cold wave that the American authorities have described as “dangerous”.
In the capital, Des Moines, where snow fell all day, few vehicles took their chances on the slippery roads. Dozens of cars and trucks were overturned on the roadway. Wind gusts of more than 50 kilometers per hour were forecast during the night and the temperature, which stood at −9°C, was expected to drop by another ten to twenty degrees over the next few days.
Most of the flights, supposed to bring in thousands of journalists, activists and campaign volunteers who came to attend the first major meeting of the American presidential election, were canceled or redirected to neighboring states.
Donald Trump wants everything to be done to “make voting easier”
How to campaign in these conditions? The question obsesses Republican candidates, who are forced to cancel or postpone their events. Among them, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley chose to organize all her meetings initially planned on the ground online.
“We are not afraid of the snow”said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who made a detour to his campaign headquarters early in the afternoon, unable to meet voters.
The forty-year-old, who is currently in third place in the Republican polls, still hopes to be able to reduce the dizzying lead enjoyed by the favorite, Mr. Trump.
The former president also has to deal with the chaos caused by the storm: several of his meetings were canceled on Saturday across the state. Four times criminally charged, the billionaire is counting on a resounding victory in Iowa to quickly be designated as the Republican candidate against Joe Biden in November. Those around him urge local authorities to do everything to “facilitate the voting process”Monday evening.
The storm is expected to intensify
Beyond Iowa, much of the country has been hit in recent days by heavy rain and snow brought by a winter storm that left several dead and deprived hundreds of thousands of homes of electricity. “Every state is on yellow, orange or red alert”warned the National Weather Service on X.
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The storm is expected to intensify across the country, with snow across the Midwest and severe thunderstorms in the South.
A Chicago (Illinois) airport was closed Friday morning due to snow and ice, hundreds of flights were canceled throughout the region.