Iowa caucuses

Ames, Iowa

Iowa's largest newspaper roasted the state's Democrats Thursday for how they handled this year's caucus.

Donald Trump went back to the well of his "self-funding" strategy Tuesday, lamenting that voters haven't given him kudos for one of his campaign's central boasts.

For nearly three decades, politicians, pollsters, and pundits have considered support for ethanol a litmus test for legitimacy in Iowa presidential politics. Former Vice President Al Gore, who won the Iowa Democratic caucuses in 2000, famously explained the strategizing over ethanol policies that…

Well, I don't know how you feel, but it seems fitting to me that the day after this year's Iowa caucuses is Groundhog Day (and not because of the animal's resemblance to the thing that sits on The Donald's head). Just like Phil Connors in the 1993 Bill Murray-Harold Ramis classic, we find ourselves…

Why does Donald Trump's respectable finish in the Iowa caucuses look so much like a stinging defeat? After all, for a conventional candidate, Trump's performance could easily be spun as a victory. In profoundly hostile territory – Iowa's GOP voters are deeply religious, while Trump is … Trump – the…

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on the results of tonight's Iowa caucuses.

Donald Trump has owned the polls, scientific or otherwise: polls about debate performance, polls measuring support in primary states, even "entrance" polls of Iowa caucus goers before they cast a vote Monday night. But Trump fell short in the nation's first primary state, with Texas senator Ted…

It seems that voters have been disenchanted ever since they had the opportunity to elect Barack Obama president. In 2008, the country was war-weary, terrified of its financial state, and eager to change its polarizing politics. In 2010, it was worried about its solvency, agitated by a law of…

Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio need a last-minute charge to compete in Monday's Iowa Republican Caucus. Recent precedent shows that Cruz could overtake Donald Trump to capture first place. Rubio would need an historic surge to win — but he could at least be in the mix by making up ground similar…

Des Moines

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on what we can expect from tomorrow's Iowa caucuses: surprises.

Emmetsburg, Iowa

Thank heavens for Ctrl+F, a reader's best friend in times of memory lapse and abject laziness. While scouring a transcript of about 19,000 words, it's also a legitimate research tool—particularly when the researcher has a hunch that the word he's looking for isn't mentioned too often.

Des Moines

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on next Monday's Iowa caucuses.

The Republican presidential primaries have been chaotic thus far. And the chaos could continue.

West Des Moines, IA

Yesterday, in the boss's newsletter Kristol Clear (sign up here for free!) we sent out a new twist on our traditional newsletter straw poll: A prediction market game.

In the days leading up to the Iowa Caucus, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has taken his message to the Internet for a last-minute blitz with a series of web videos. (Including even a how-to for first time caucus goers.)

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on the forthcoming pre-caucus GOP debate, why the Donald isn't inevitable, and why Tea Partiers should oppose Trump.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the Iowa caucuses, just one week away.

Donald Trump framed his unqualified support of ethanol Tuesday as an act of political independence — this, before a gathering of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit, less than two weeks away from the state's caucus.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer John McCormack, live from Iowa, on whether Sarah Palin will push Donald Trump to a caucus win in Iowa.

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Des Moines

A new poll of Iowa Republicans shows Texas senator Ted Cruz moving into a close second to Donald Trump in the race for the presidential nomination. The Quinnipiac poll of 600 likely GOP caucusgoers found 25 support Trump while 23 percent support Cruz.

The fallout from Scott Walker's exit from the presidential race continues in Iowa, which had been the Wisconsin governor's stronghold. The Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs reports that Texas senator Ted Cruz has gained the support of three of Walker's county chairs:

Four members of Scott Walker's Iowa campaign are now aligning with Marco Rubio. With the Wisconsin governor exiting the presidential race Monday, the Walker campaign's network of activist supporters in the early primary states are free to endorse other candidates.

A new poll of likely Republican caucusgoers in Iowa finds Donald Trump and Ben Carson tied for the lead at 23 percent support. The Monmouth University poll is the first since July to show Trump not in the sole lead position in Iowa.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is nothing if not a campaign veteran. He’s run and won three statewide races since 2010, including the highly contentious recall election in 2012. In fact, since an unsuccessful bid for the state assembly in 1990 when he was just 22, Walker hasn’t lost an election.…

Hillary Clinton still leads the Democratic field in Iowa, but according to a new Public Policy Polling survey of "usual Democratic voters" in the Hawkeye state independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is making gains there.

Rick Santorum is keeping expectations low for his second presidential campaign. Asked if he would need to win the Iowa caucuses to stay in the race, the former senator said it “depends.”

A new Quinnipiac poll of likely Iowa Republican presidential caucusgoers finds Wisconsin's Scott Walker in front of the GOP pack with 21 percent support and a 9-point advantage over his closest primary opponents. That's down from 25 percent and a 12-point lead in Quinnipiac's February poll, but…

A new poll of likely Iowa Republican presidential caucus goers finds a wide-open field with three candidates vying for the top spot and a plurality undecided. Scott Walker, the governor of neighboring Wisconsin, leads the latest poll from Loras College, earning 12.6 percent support. Florida senator…

The super PAC supporting former Texas governor Rick Perry has a new web ad focusing on the Republican's farming roots and showcasing his recent trips to Iowa. "My background is off of a dry-land cotton farm 200 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas," says Perry in the video. "I understand blue-collar,…

Just before the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend, the reelection campaign for Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced its campaign manager, Jesse Benton, was resigning. Benton was leaving the campaign, Politico reports, "citing potential distractions over renewed attention to a scandal from the…

A gathering of pro-Hillary Clinton activists in Iowa this weekend revealed how supporters of the former first lady are hoping to learn from the mistakes of Clinton's failed attempt to win the Iowa caucuses in 2008. America Rising, a conservative opposition research firm, had its cameras rolling at…

The chairman of Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign is refusing to answer questions about allegations the campaign paid for endorsements before the Iowa caucuses last year. Jesse Benton, a longtime Paul aide who is now campaign manager for Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, has not replied…

Manchester, N.H.

Bedford, N.H.

On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich lowered the boom on Mitt Romney in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan. Gingrich criticized his GOP rival as a "Massachusetts moderate" while touting himself as a "Southern conservative." Asked if he ought to be responding more aggressively to attacks…

CNN's Dana Bash touted her interview with Texas congressman Ron Paul and his son, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, by noting on Twitter that the elder Paul "ruled out running outside" the Republican party if he fails to win the GOP nomination for president. But that's not exactly what Ron Paul said.…

A new survey of Iowa Republicans from GOP firm InsiderAdvantage shows a close, tough race the day before the Iowa caucuses. National front-runner Mitt Romney has a miniscule lead at 22.7 percent over Ron Paul at 22.4 percent. Rick Santorum, who is surging in many recent polls in the Hawkeye State,…

It’s likely that no candidate will win so much as 30 percent of the votes cast in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses. Yet you can bet that the press corps will crown as the big winner the candidate who gets perhaps one-quarter of the votes of caucus-goers in a state that’s half the size of the average…

When Senator Paul Simon of Illinois was running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, one of his first stops was in the backyard of a residence in Wartburg, Iowa. About 100 people had assembled to hear him. The first question: What’s up in Namibia?

The latest poll of Republican Iowa caucusgoers by the Des Moines Register finds Mitt Romney maintaining a slight lead over his Republican rivals with 24 percent support. In the survey, conducted over four days in the last week, Ron Paul comes in a close second with 22 percent, and Rick Santorum…

The latest CNN poll of Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans show Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, in the lead in both states. The New Hampshire poll confirms Romney's long-held advantage over his GOP opponents at 44 percent, 9 points up from a similar poll conducted by CNN earlier…

Newt Gingrich has released a 30-second ad that will air on television in Iowa starting on Wednesday. The ad focuses on his jobs plan and reminds Iowa Republicans of Gingrich's strong debate performances this past fall. Watch the video below:

Mitt Romney's latest television ad is airing in Iowa a week ahead of the January 3 caucuses. The thirty-second ad focuses on Romney as a "conservative businessman" and features his promise to "get rid of Obamacare." Watch the video below:

Mitt Romney had a strong performance Thursday night in the final debate before the January 3 Iowa caucuses. From Medicare reform to foreign policy to the economy, Romney provided mostly succinct answers within the mainstream of Republican ideas. And because he did not spend much time engaging his…

The new Des Moines Register poll shows Newt Gingrich with a 7-point lead in Iowa over Ron Paul, and a 9-point lead of Mitt Romney.  “It’s a three-person race, but there’s a clear leader,” says J. Ann Selzer, the Register’s pollster. The last poll conducted by Selzer — the recognized expert in Iowa…

Former Iowa governor Robert Ray has endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Ray is a moderate Republican who served as governor of the Hawkeye State for 14 years. "I want our next president to be someone whose character and judgment I respect and whose ideas are valid for our country," Ray said in a…

A new national CBS News poll shows a close three-man race for the Republican nomination for president among Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich. Cain received 18 percent support, while Romney and Gingrich are both tied at 15 percent. That shows a decrease in support for Cain and Romney, who…

Dubuque, Iowa

Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Iowa Republican party, announced the 2012 Iowa caucuses will be held on January 3, moving up from the planned February 6 date. From the press release:

Mike Murphy says enough with the Iowa caucuses already.