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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in second place in Iowa on Monday night as the race now shifts to New Hampshire and South Carolina with questions swirling about what the second place finish will mean for his campaign going forward. 

DeSantis outperformed some polling expectations on Monday night finishing at roughly 21% when the Real Clear Politics average of polls showed him at 15.7% before votes were cast. However, Trump won a decisive victory with over 50% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in Iowa Caucus history, in a state where DeSantis had gone “all in” with his campaign’s time and resources.

The DeSantis campaign touted the performance by saying that the Florida governor “earned his ticket out of Iowa.”

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley, who many pundits believed was surging in Iowa and could potentially finish ahead of DeSantis, finished in 3rd place a couple of points behind DeSantis.

WHY IOWA PACKS A MEDIA PUNCH, EVEN THOUGH IT’S SMALL AND UNREPRESENTATIVE

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a Never Back Down campaign event in Keene, New Hampshire, U.S., on November 21, 2023. (REUTERS/Sophie Park/File Photo)

“They threw everything at Ron DeSantis,” a senior DeSantis campaign official told Fox News Digital late Monday night. “They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down.”

During his Monday night speech, DeSantis struck a defiant tone while speaking to his supporters.

“I can tell you, because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” DeSantis said.

“This is our responsibility to carry this torch and to preserve this sacred fire of liberty, DeSantis said. “We thank you for your effort. We thank you for your support. You helped us get a ticket punched out of the Hawkeye State. We have a lot of work to do, but I can tell you this as the next President of the United States, I am going to get the job done for this country. I am not going to make any excuses and I guarantee you this. I will not let you down.”

Despite the close 2nd place finish, questions about whether DeSantis has the momentum and funding to compete with Trump in future states are likely to continue. 

Kellyanne Conway, former senior advisor to President Trump, told Fox News before the caucuses on Monday night that DeSantis “should continue on whether he finishes second or third.”

Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume pointed out that a second place finish in Iowa has historically led to securing the nomination on the GOP side.

“Let’s not forget that second place has led to a lot of people winning the nomination in Iowa, you finish second in Iowa it’s worth something,” Hume said as the results were coming in on Monday night. “There are a lot of places where it wouldn’t be and in the coming races in the future it won’t be as much but out here when you win second you go on and who knows you might win the nomination.”

Some on social media have called for DeSantis, and the other candidates, to drop out of the race given Trump’s dominant and historic victory on Monday night winning by roughly 30 points. 

THIS 2024 GOP CANDIDATE WAS TARGETED BY WAY MORE ATTACK ADS THAN ANY OTHER HEADING INTO THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“Deciding to drop out is the hardest decision a presidential candidate can make. It’s deeply personal and emotional, no matter how obvious or rational it seems,” GOP strategist Alex Conant, founding partner at Firehouse Strategies, told Fox News Digital hours before the votes were cast in Iowa on Monday night.  

“If DeSantis does not beat Trump in Iowa tonight, he won’t beat him anywhere and his campaign will be effectively over. But it will be up to him when to drop out, and that’s anyone’s guess.”

DeSantis, who will hold two campaign events in South Carolina on Tuesday before flying to New Hampshire to campaign, has said multiple times that he is staying in the race regardless of Monday’s outcome in Iowa.

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Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall in Rye, New Hampshire, January 2, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

“This campaign is built for the long-haul,” DeSantis Comms Director Andrew Romeo said on January 12. “We intend to compete for every single available delegate in New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and then into March. That begins on Monday’s Iowa Caucus, and the next day we will kick our campaign into overdrive in both South Carolina and New Hampshire.”

“We hope Donald Trump is ready for a long, scrappy campaign as we work to share Ron DeSantis’ vision across America. Game on.”

Because Iowa awards delegates proportionately, all of the top four candidates will receive delegates.

Trump currently holds large leads in the polls in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. The former president, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, holds a 14 point lead in New Hampshire and a 30 point lead in South Carolina.

The DeSantis campaign has touted his endorsements in Haley’s home state of South Carolina pointing out that he has earned more than she has.

“Despite South Carolina being Nikki Haley’s home state, DeSantis has already built up an impressive grassroots organization,” a campaign spokesperson recently told Fox News Digital. “He has endorsements from 74 current and former elected officials, while Haley has just 14. This includes 19 state legislators for DeSantis, compared to Haley’s 11.”

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, mixed it up with a heckler while campaigning for former President Trump in Iowa on Monday after the audience member began shouting at him and accusing Trump of being “racist.”

“Tonight, at the Timberline Caucus, as I spoke on behalf of President Trump an enraged man attempted to stop my speech,” Hunt posted on X on Monday night from Iowa. “He shouted Trump was ‘racist.’  You know, the same tired trope we’ve heard over and over again.  

“But on this day, of all days, Martin Luther King Day, the people of Iowa, just like President Trump judge me not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character. The anti-Trump movement is in full blown meltdown.”

In the video of the exchange, an audience member can be heard interrupting Hunt and saying, “How can a Black man do this on Martin Luther King Day?”

TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘HONORED,’ ‘INVIGORATED’ AFTER WINNING IOWA CAUCUSES: ‘WE WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN’

The man accused Hunt of “degrading himself” and “turning his back” on Black people as he attempted to confront Hunt before being held back by other members of the audience.

The man, who appeared to be African-American like Hunt, was eventually removed from the room by members of the crowd, sparking applause from the audience.

RUBIO BECOMES 2ND FLORIDA SENATOR TO ENDORSE TRUMP OVER DESANTIS

WASHINGTON – MAY 18: Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, walks down the House steps of the Capitol on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I come from a district in Houston, Texas that’s a majority white district and I won by 30 points,” Hunt said after the protester was escorted out. “Because on days like this I realize I am literally being judged not by the color of my skin but on the content of my character.”

Hunt added that when he “walks into rooms like this” he doesn’t “see race color or creed” but rather his “fellow Americans.”

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GOP Congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas.  (Wesley Hunt)

Trump won Monday night’s Iowa Caucus by a commanding margin, beating his closest challenger by almost 30 points as votes continued to roll in after midnight.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said he feels “invigorated” and “greatly honored” after winning the 2024 Iowa caucuses, telling Fox News Digital that he feels “strong” for our country.

Fox News Digital exclusively interviewed the former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner shortly after the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Trump won the Iowa caucuses. 

Trump takes the lion’s share of the state’s 40 delegates in the first-in-the-nation primary contest. The result solidifies his place as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. 

“I feel great,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I am greatly honored by such an early call.”

DONALD TRUMP, NIKKI HALEY, RON DESANTIS AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES

Donald Trump arrives on stage during a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, US, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won—against very credible competition—great competition, actually,” Trump said.

He added: “It is a tremendous thing and a tremendous feeling.”

“We have to get our country back,” he told Fox News Digital. “Our country has gone through so many bad things over the last three years and it is continuing to go through bad things.”

Trump pointed to conflict in the Middle East and “the attack of Israel.” 

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“I feel really invigorated and strong for our country,” he told Fox News Digital. “We want to Make America Great Again—the greatest slogan ever—and the fact is, that’s what we did.”

Trump touted his administration’s success, pointing to U.S. energy independence, the rebuilding of the U.S. military, and “the best economy ever” under his presidency.

“We’re going to quickly do it all again,” he said. “We are going to fix our border and we are going to do it and do it quickly.”

The Fox News Decision Desk projects that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will take second place in the Iowa caucuses.

DeSantis will trail former President Donald Trump by a significant margin, but coming in second may give his campaign a much-needed boost.

DeSantis has edged former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who comes in third, as he tries to make the case that he is the true alternative candidate to Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

TRUMP QUICKLY SECURES VICTORY IN IOWA, OTHERS BATTLE FOR SECOND IN FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING ELECTION

Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. (Getty Images)

Haley will look to regain support in New Hampshire ahead of its primary next week.

Vivek Ramaswamy placed fourth, and announced he would be suspending his campaign.

The contest between Haley and DeSantis quickly heated up between the two Southern conservatives after entrepreneur Ramaswamy’s rise in the polls fizzled following the first presidential debate. Haley and DeSantis continued to battle in Iowa and elsewhere to convince voters it was a two-candidate race between them and Trump.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY ENDS PRESIDENTIAL BID FOLLOWING IOWA CAUCUSES

Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It’s unclear what Haley’s path to victory will be considering Trump’s commanding lead in the upcoming New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, although recent polls suggest she stands in a distant second place in both contests ahead of DeSantis.

Ahead of the Fox News Decision Desk second-place call, the DeSantis campaign indicated to Fox News Digital in a statement that the former governor would be pushing ahead in the race for the GOP nomination.

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“They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation, and we will not back down,” a senior DeSantis campaign official said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, who was recently criticized for allegedly having an “improper” romantic relationship with a prosecutor, is now being accused of paying one of her attorneys $100 less per hour than her alleged lover, Nathan Wade, according to reports.

The New York Post reported that Wade was billing the DA’s office $250 per hour in November and December 2021, as he worked on the prosecution against former President Donald Trump, who is accused of election interference in 2020. Court records alleged Wade had no experience in state racketeering law.

But another prosecutor on the team, John Floyd, reportedly has considerable knowledge when it comes to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) cases.

GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS CLAIMS ‘IMPROPER’ RELATIONSHIP ACCUSATIONS ARE BASED ON RACE

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. (Getty Images)

Floyd billed $150 per hour during the same months Wade billed $250 per hour, according to a contract obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Trump and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case.

The accusation about the difference in pay comes nearly a week after Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis and Wade of having an “improper” and “clandestine” affair at the same time appointments were being made for the 2020 election interference case.

TOP TRUMP PROSECUTOR, GEORGIA DA ALLEGED TO BE IN ‘IMPROPER’ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP: COURT FILING

Michael Roman was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office )

Roman was a former official on Trump’s 2020 campaign and argued about the integrity of the case being compromised because of the affair, last week in court, asking for the charges against Roman to be dropped.

On Sunday, Willis spoke on the matter at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, claiming she was called out because she is Black.

“They only attacked one,” she said. “First thing they say, ‘oh, she’s gonna play the race card now.’

FORMER COP TARGETS TRUMP, GOP OPPONENTS OVER ‘DISGRACEFUL’ LAW ENFORCEMENT RHETORIC 3 YEARS AFTER JAN 6

FILE – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during an interview at her office, Feb. 24, 2021, in Atlanta. A judge is considering what guidelines to place on questions that can be asked of Georgia state lawmakers called before a special grand jury in an investigation, opened by Willis, into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in the state.  (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

“But no God, isn’t it them that’s playing the race card when they only question one,” Willis asked.

While speaking at the church, Willis claimed she treated all three special prosecutors equally, adding she “paid them all the same hourly rate.”

According to the Daily Caller, Anna Cross, the third special prosecutor, was paid $250 per hour in 2022.

HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATING WHETHER FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ‘COORDINATED’ WITH JAN 6 COMMITTEE

Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Fulton County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case.

The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case.

Trump was indicted by Willis in August and pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law.

Roman, alongside Trump, was hit with a racketeering charge as part of Willis’ case and was charged with seven felony counts last August.

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The Georgia case is one of four pending against Trump; he also faces charges in New York City, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Temperatures across Iowa plunged below zero degrees on Monday evening as Republican voters trudged to caucus sites to cast the first votes of the 2024 presidential primary elections.

According to Fox Weather data, temperatures in the state’s capital of Des Moines hit 4 degrees below zero and 23 degrees below zero, factoring in wind chill on Monday night. Other cities in Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City and Iowa City, similarly plummeted to freezing-cold temperatures, with Sioux City hitting 26 degrees below zero.

The low temperatures were recorded as Iowa’s Republican caucuses statewide were called to order. The temperatures mean Monday night is the coldest caucus since the state began holding them in 1972, according to Fox Weather.

Some caucus sites were forced to delay proceedings slightly due to the weather.

LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

A resident walks outside during a blizzard ahead of the Iowa Caucus in Des Moines, Iowa. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“When it’s that cold, and you’re also talking about things that happen at night, this is not a ‘go out the middle of the day type of thing,'” David Richards, an associate professor and political chair at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia, told Fox Weather. “It’ll tend to turn some people off. And I think if you are a more casual participant, you might be turned off by the elements.”

It is unclear how the weather will impact Iowa voters’ decision to attend caucuses or if it will have a broad impact on the results of the election.

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR

But ahead of the caucus, candidates called for voters to brave the cold weather and make their voices heard.

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential primary nomination. (Getty Images)

“I’m asking you to go out, brave the cold and support me in the Iowa Caucus,” Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on X. “You will never have an opportunity to have your vote make more of an impact than you will tonight!”

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Fellow GOP candidate former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley told voters to “layer up” and head to their caucus site.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Former President Donald Trump cruised to an easy victory on Monday night in the Iowa caucuses, the lead off contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar.

The Fox News Decision Desk made call for Trump at 8:31pm ET, a half an hour after the caucuses got underway across the Hawkeye State.

The former president’s lightning-fast win in Iowa gives him an early victory in his bid to return to the White House.

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE IOWA CAUCUS UPDATES FROM FOX NEWS

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump, who narrowly lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, assembled a formidable get-out-the-vote machine in the state over the past year.

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The big questions as Monday night unfolds is whether Trump will capture a majority of the vote in the caucuses, or top the largest previous margin of victory by a Republican presidential candidate in the caucuses.

It is still too early to call whether former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will win a distant second place behind Trump.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley chose not to answer a question about whether men can become women, instead saying that the government should allow such surgeries for adults, during a town hall Sunday.

Haley, who previously served as United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina, appeared to dodge the question from an Iowa voter about transgenderism during the town hall. The Haley campaign held the town hall via teleconference which was held after a blizzard forced it to cancel a planned in-person event in Dubuque, Iowa.

“We shouldn’t have them permanently change their body until they’re 18,” Haley told the voter, according to audio of the event first obtained by the Daily Caller. “After the age of 18, we want to make sure people can live any way they want to live. I don’t think government needs to be in control of anybody’s life. You go live the way you want to live, you should be free to live the way you want to live. And government and everybody else should stay out of your way.”

“I think that, you know, you always have to believe in freedom and allowing people to live life the way they want to live, and if that’s how they choose then, you know, I don’t think government should have any say in that,” the former ambassador continued.

LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, holds up a commit to caucus card during a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ in Ames, Iowa, on Monday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Haley added that she strongly believed children under the age of 18 years old should not be legally allowed to proceed with any gender surgeries. She noted tattoos are illegal for anyone younger than 18 years old.

She failed, though, to ever say in her answer whether she believed a man could or could not become a woman. 

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR

Haley’s comments were later highlighted by Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Nikki Haley dodged the question when she was asked whether a man can become a woman,” Never Back Down said in an X post Monday.

The group added that DeSantis simply answered “no” when asked during a radio interview  last year if a man could become a woman.

Haley’s comments, meanwhile, come ahead of the Iowa caucuses which are slated to take place Monday evening. 

NIKKI HALEY’S CAMPAIGN SPENT THOUSANDS ON LUXURY HOTELS DESPITE CLAIMS IT RUNS ‘A TIGHT SHIP’

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential primary nomination. (Getty Images)

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The Haley campaign didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Fox News Digital reporter Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., endorsed former President Trump on Sunday instead of his state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, for the 2024 presidential election.

“When Trump was in WH I achieved major policies I had worked on for years (like expanded Child Tax Credit & tough sanctions on regime in Cuba & Venezuela) because we had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us,” Rubio wrote on X.

“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” he added. “It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!”

TRUMP PICKS UP MORE SENATE GOP ENDORSEMENTS

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks to reporters after a briefing on Ukraine in the Capitol on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rubio had contested against Trump in the 2016 election but withdrew from the race following his defeat in the Florida primary. Last November, Florida Sen. Rick Scott threw his support behind Trump, leading both state senators to favor Trump over DeSantis.

During the contentious 2016 race, Trump often referred to Rubio as “Little Marco,” while Rubio referred to Trump as a “con artist” and said his administration would be “chaos.” 

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS THE IOWA CAUCUSES APPROACH

Fox News Channel hosted a live town hall with former President Trump from Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. ET. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Just hours before Rubio threw his support behind Trump, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — who also dropped out of the 2024 race — endorsed the former president as well.

Rubio’s endorsement comes as Trump remains the consistent frontrunner in surveys. He joins nearly two dozen GOP senators in endorsing Trump, including Sens. JD Vance of Ohio, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and others.

Iowa caucusgoers will cast their vote for the Republican presidential nominee Monday evening. 

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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

President Biden’s approval rating plummeted to the lowest on record for a U.S. president in the last 15 years, according to a new poll by ABC News. 

Biden’s approval rating sits at just 31%, according to a national survey produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, with fieldwork by Ipsos Public Affairs via its online, probability-based KnowledgePanel. The poll found 58% of respondents disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president. That makes his approval rating worse than even former President Trump’s lowest in office, which was 36%, according to ABC News. It also marks the lowest since former President George W. Bush’s administration in the mid-2000s.  

Just 18% approve of how Biden is handling immigration at the southern border – half of his approval rating on the issue in the spring. ABC News said that means Biden has the lowest approval ranking on immigration in particular for any U.S. president featured in past ABC News/Washington Post polls that asked a version of the same question since January 2004.

BIDEN APPROVAL RATING NUMBERS DISMAL COMPARED TO PREVIOUS MODERN PRESIDENTS, GALLUP FINDS

President Biden speaks to members of the press before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 13, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

On the economy, the poll found that just 13% of Americans say they are better off financially since Biden took office. Following a 37-year record set in September, 43% of the respondents surveyed from Jan. 4-8, 2024, said they’re not as well off, and 41% said they were about the same financially since the current administration started. 

President Biden walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Jan. 12, 2024. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

ABC News said that around the middle of Trump’s term, just 13% – one-third as many people as Biden – said they were not as well off as before he took office, replacing former President Obama. The poll found that just 31% approve of how Biden is handling the economy, while 56% disapprove.

BIDEN HAS BEEN SECRETLY MEETING WITH DONORS TO EASE CONCERNS, INCLUDING HIS AGE AND ENERGY: REPORT

President Biden speaks during a campaign event at Emanuel AME Church on Jan. 8, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Just 26% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, while 48% disapprove. Though the poll noted a substantial 25% don’t express an opinion on the issue.

Republican candidates will begin squaring off Monday in Iowa as caucusgoers and voters start deciding which GOP nominee will take on President Biden this November. 

The Republican primary race has been underway for almost a year and has included large-scale attacks as candidates have jockeyed to close the gap between themselves and former President Trump, who has maintained commanding leads in polls.

But despite Trump’s frontrunner status, he has not been the most targeted GOP candidate. Instead, the candidates battling behind him have set their sights on each other, attempting to cut down and distance themselves from their challengers.

BLIZZARD DERAILS IOWA CAMPAIGN EVENTS, WILL BELOW ZERO TEMPS DEPRESS CAUCUS TURNOUT?

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential nomination. (Getty Images)

The race has featured extensive cash poured into political maneuvering, including attack ads. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been the most targeted GOP candidate in that regard as voters begin selecting the Republican presidential nominee.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, DeSantis has faced nearly $48 million in negative independent expenditures, including TV and radio ads. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has been attacked the second most, with almost $24 million in negative independent expenditures going toward her.

Haley and DeSantis, in particular, have targeted each other relentlessly as they attempt to solidify themselves as the Trump alternative.

Trump, meanwhile, has faced $23 million in negative independent expenditures, filings show. President Biden has seen $21 million in such spending aimed at him.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA – WILL IT PAY OFF?

Former President Trump has maintained commanding leads in polls. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Iowans will head to more than 1,600 caucus sites Monday night while braving frigid below-zero temperatures to cast ballots in the lead-off contest of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Iowa caucuses that we know today can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Current GOP presidential candidates have spent a lot of time and money touring various cities in Iowa beginning in 2023 and continuing this year, specifically ahead of caucus night, in an old-fashioned effort to campaign.

Iowa is typically the battleground state both Democrats and Republicans campaign in. However, Democrats have opted out of the first nominating contest in Iowa. This year, South Carolina will be the location for the Democrat’s primary contest as more support for President Biden is expected in the Palmetto State.

RUBIO BECOMES 2ND FLORIDA SENATOR TO ENDORSE TRUMP OVER DESANTIS

Through a communal decision process, Iowans will get together on Monday and select the candidate they want to represent their party on the general election ballot. The winning candidate is then named, shining a light on where voters stand thus far in the race. 

However, the championed candidate does not immediately earn the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election, but rather rustles up bragging rights and a better chance at furthering their campaign trail.

Here are some of the upsets and most notable caucuses over the last five decades.

Iowa caucus 1972: After a push to change the traditional ways of the caucus system from Democrats who believed it was more controlled by “party bosses” as opposed to “responding to grassroots voices and desire,” according to the Des Moines Register, Iowa became first in kicking off the election process during the election season. Then-Sen. George McGovern, a Democrat, came in third place with 23% votes, but he gained media attention which helped him in the New Hampshire primary.

Iowa caucus 1976: Jimmy Carter also made it in the news and spent a lot of time in Iowa, which boosted his performance. He ended up gaining 28% of the votes and went on to eventually become president.

Iowa caucus 1988: Then-Sen. Bob Dole won 37% of the votes, calling it “a rather clear-cut victory,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Televangelist Pat Robertson came in second place with 25%, and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush came in third place with 19%. However, Bush eventually ended up becoming the nominee, winning the presidency.

Iowa caucus 2008: Then-Sen. Barack Obama, who eventually became the president, was up against then-Sen. Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee was up against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain. Obama won 37.6% of the votes, and Clinton came in third place, winning 29.5%. Huckabee won 34.4% of votes from delegates, Romney came in second with 25.4% and McCain in last place with 13.2%.

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Iowa caucus 2012: Romney was named as winner of the caucus, beating former Senator Rick Santorum by eight votes. Everything seemed to be smooth sailing after Romney won the New Hampshire primary, and he would have been the first Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating race. However, just eight days after the primary, it was found out that Romney came in second place in the Iowa caucus and 16 days after the caucus it was made public that he had actually lost to Santorum by 34 votes.

Iowa caucus 2016: Roughly 182,000 Republican caucus-goers turned out for the 2016 Iowa caucuses, which was a record-breaking turnout for the primary event. The GOP race included Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio. Cruz went on to win the caucus, receiving the most votes ever in the Hawkeye State for a single candidate, but Trump went on to become president.

This mishap affected the Republican Party in Iowa, forcing them to admit that there was a mistake in counting votes. 

Caucusgoers are heading out in freezing temperatures to cast the first votes of the 2024 election. Snowfall and temperatures have set new records in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

“I haven’t ever experienced a minus 15 degrees in my life,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an event in Altoona last week.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley told Iowans attending an event in Ankeny, “It’s going to be so cold. Like, I don’t even know what minus 15 is.” 

“That was a hell of a trip I just took,” former President Donald Trump told a Clinton rally. “The snow came and the rain. I saw everything.”

Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential nomination. (Getty Images)

LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS, FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The winter storm has forced the candidates to adjust their schedules. Trump had to cancel several events and held a tele-rally. Haley also held telephone town halls after a series of cancellations. 

“I have to say, I am definitely not in South Carolina anymore. This is unbelievable,” she told attendees at a Waukee event. 

DeSantis also canceled events and was forced to readjust his schedule due to the weather. Vivek Ramaswamy has criticized the other candidates for cancellations, despite canceling his own events. 

“Some saw a snowstorm, canceled events in northwest Iowa,” Ramaswamy said at a Sioux City rally, just one day before canceling his events in Coralville and Burlington. “We got four events. We’re keeping them intact. You can’t handle the snow, you’re not ready for Xi Jinping. That’s my view.”

Ahead of our interview with Ramaswamy in Dallas County, the Republican candidate’s bus was unable to make the drive from Sioux City to Des Moines because of black ice. 

With candidates already getting less voter interaction and threatening cold temperatures, some worry it could impact turnout. 

“It’s a little concerning for some of us who’ve been at this process a long time, because we have some seniors who vote. And sometimes when the weather is bad, they don’t vote,” former Iowa Republican Party Co-Chair David Oman said. “I’m hopeful and have been thinking, up until just now with the weather, that we might have a record turnout.”

Early voting or mail-in ballots are not an option for most Republican caucusgoers. Instead, they must brave the elements to attend in person. 

“The caucus process and how it differs from a primary is that you actually have to be at the place of the precinct caucus at a specific time,” State Historical Society of Iowa historian Leo Landis said. 

Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The caucuses are run by political parties, while primaries are usually run by the state. Iowa Republicans have more than 1,600 locations. 

“People come together and sit in a room, or a classroom or a civic building and talk about the campaign,” Oman said. 

Candidate representatives often give speeches in an attempt to sway caucusgoers who may still be undecided. Caucusgoers then cast their votes using a secret ballot. 

“Sometimes they’re preprinted and you might check a name, or sometimes you just write the name on a slip of paper,” Landis said. “It’s the oldest way that nomination processes took place, was neighbors gathering, promoting a candidate or a cause that they thought was important and trying to convince their neighbors.”

They also select delegates for the county conventions. It’s the beginning of a multi-tiered process that involves electing delegates to attend the Republican National Convention. Those individuals are bound to back the winner of the GOP caucuses in Milwaukee this summer. But that was not always the case. The 2012 Iowa caucuses led to major changes for Republicans. 

Mitt Romney had initially appeared to defeat Rick Santorum. 

“In 2012, we had a slight glitch where Mitt Romney won by eight votes,” Oman said. 

Around two weeks after the results were announced, a new tally showed Santorum had more votes than Romney.

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR

The eventual winner would change once again during the Republican National Convention. Since the delegates were not bound to vote for Santorum or Romney at the convention, they were able to switch their preference to Texas Rep. Ron Paul. 

“Rep. Paul saw how contested conventions could lead to a different nomination,” Landis said. “Even though delegates are supposedly locked in, the nomination at the convention shifted.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives for a campaign rally at the Thunderdome on Dec. 2, 2023, in Newton, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

For the 2016 election cycle, the Republican National Committee made it so delegates were bound to the candidate they were allocated to. 

“That was something that you did have, especially in the 1970s, where the Reagan versus Ford campaign really wasn’t locked up till the national convention,” Landis said. 

Democrats do not have binding delegates but have changed their process dramatically after issues plagued the 2020 caucuses. 

“You can’t talk about the 2020 Democratic nomination process without saying it was a debacle,” Landis said. 

The party was unable to determine a winner due to glitches with the app it used to record and report results. 

“They didn’t report any votes because they didn’t have any votes,” Oman said. 

They eventually released a tally showing former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had narrowly defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

“With the three-day wait and maybe having some issues about where the votes counted or the caucus delegates counted accurately really did reflect poorly on the Iowa Democratic Party,” Landis said. 

While some criticize the process on both sides, Iowans say the first-in-the-nation status helps boost voter turnout. 

“Certainly it has limitations, but it’s not as if primaries bring out more than 50% of the voters. So it really is the engaged electorate who’s participating in caucuses,” Landis said.

Whether Democrats make Iowa first once again in 2028 is still unclear.

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at The James Theater in Iowa City on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (Alex Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP, HALEY AND DESANTIS HAVE PLENTY ON THE LINE AS IOWA CAUCUSES KICK OFF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

“I think it’s going to be a hard, hard push for the Iowa Democratic Party to get that back,” Landis said. 

Democrats were the first to make Iowa the first in the nation event. Republicans followed suit in 1976.

“In 1972, you’ve got Edmund Muskie versus George McGovern, and Muskie was the senator from Maine, seen as the frontrunner,” Landis said. 

South Dakota Sen. George McGovern campaigned heavily in Iowa. While he did not win the caucuses, he did much better than expected and eventually became the 1972 Democratic nominee. 

“McGovern used Iowa to prove he was a viable candidate,” Landis said. “Then in 1976, it really does become a national event for candidates.”

While the winner in Iowa does not always determine the nominee, it does give candidates momentum. In 1980, George H.W. Bush won the caucuses and went on to be Ronald Reagan’s vice president. He was eventually elected to the White House in 1988. That year, Bob Dole won the caucuses with the help of his Iowa-native campaign manager. 

“We take politics very seriously because this process has worked for almost two generations,” Oman said. 

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While the polls have Trump in the lead, Iowa caucusgoers could help another candidate get the boost they need to either win the nomination or other top political positions. 

“You’ve got these stories that sometimes get overlooked in Iowa’s role,” Landis said. “They show who are good candidates with good messages, with good organizations, and might be a great candidate on a national stage, too.”

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is taking to the airwaves hours before her state’s caucuses lead off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar to raise expectations for former President Trump.

“I think it’s going to be bad for President Trump if he doesn’t come in over 50. He’s not meeting expectations that the media and the polls have been putting out for the past several months,” Reynolds argued in an interview Monday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”

The popular Iowa governor is the top surrogate in the Hawkeye State for Trump’s rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is battling former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for a distant second place in Iowa behind Trump, who is the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

It is not just Reynolds, either. 

WHAT’S ON THE LINE FOR TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND HALEY IN THE IOWA CAUCUSES

Republican presidential candidate former President Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier, in a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” argued that “expectations are high for Trump…he’s got to perform. If he gets less than half the vote, more people voting against him than for him. I think that’s, you know, setting up doom down the road.”

WHAT THE FINAL POLL BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES SHOWS

Haley, in an interview on the same program, noted that people will be looking to see if Trump “is falling below 50%.”

Additionally, Haley’s campaign, in a video Monday morning, spotlighted clips of Trump touting how he is up by 60 points in some polls.

Former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, holds up a commit to caucus card during a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ in Ames, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump is confident he will do “very well” in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses.

However, the former president is not ready to make a prediction on whether he will top 50%.

As he left his hotel in Des Moines on Sunday, Trump was asked by Fox News’ James Levinson about whether he would receive more than 50% of the vote in the caucuses.

“I don’t know, I think we are doing very well,” Trump answered. The former president is sitting on extremely large double-digit leads in the latest polls in Iowa as well as in national surveys in the GOP presidential nomination race.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

Trump grabbed 50% support or higher in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa. Additionally, he stood at 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers that was released Saturday night. Haley and DeSantis stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey, respectively.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, takes the microphone after being introduced at an event in West Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. Also on stage with him are Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, left, and DeSantis’ wife, Casey DeSantis. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivai)

The closely-watched and highly-anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and it is considered by many as the gold standard in Iowa polling.

However, Trump and his campaign are taking aim at the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

WILL RON DESANTIS BIG BET ON IOWA PAY OFF?

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

Trump, speaking with reporters on Sunday, said “there seems to be something about 50%.”

“I think they’re doing it so that they can set a high expectation. So if we end up with 49%, which would be about 25 points bigger than anyone else ever got. They can say he had a failure, it was a failure. You know fake news,” he argued.

However, despite his best efforts, plenty of analysts and pundits will be focusing on how Trump finishes.

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Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, told Fox News “there are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now.”

“One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” noted Kochel, who remains neutral in the Republican presidential caucuses.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., privately told House Republicans that he will not accept whatever border security deal comes out of current talks between the Senate and White House, a GOP lawmaker familiar with the call said.

His GOP Conference held a conference call Sunday night, when Johnson held firm on his position that the House would not back anything less than Republicans’ Secure the Border Act, known as H.R.2, the lawmaker said.

Fox News Digital was told that border security negotiations became the main topic of discussion, with lawmakers discussing how to force passage of conservative border policies. 

KEY MODERATE REPUBLICAN COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF IMPEACHING MAYORKAS, SAYS HE SHOULD BE ‘TRIED FOR TREASON’

Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP lawmakers that he would not accept a border compromise from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s chamber as-is. (Getty Images)

It comes as a bipartisan group of senators is discussing what kind of border policy compromises could be reached in exchange for Republican support for Democrats’ $110 billion supplemental funding request for Ukraine, Israel and other humanitarian causes. 

Republicans on the call were told that the Senate is nearing a deal, the lawmaker said. One has not yet been announced.

JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE’

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for further comment.

Johnson has maintained both in public and private that the House GOP’s default position is H.R.2, the immigration and border bill that passed the House along party lines in May. 

Senator James Lankford is representing Republicans in the border security negotiations. (Reuters)

The bill, which includes a return to Trump administration-era policies like Remain in Mexico and construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, has been labeled a nonstarter by the Democrat-held Senate and White House.

Johnson pledged on the call to “use every tool we can” to get H.R.2 passed, Fox News Digital was told. 

HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM

A second GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital after the call, “I don’t think any Republican in the House wants the Senate deal.”

Immigrants from Venezuela walk towards a U.S. Border Patrol transit center after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States on Jan. 8, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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“Where’s the border security in it? We need H.R.2 or a functional alternative, but the speaker makes a good point when he says the president unilaterally made over 60 policy changes that dismantled our border security and got us here,” the second lawmaker said. “He can unilaterally fix it today without any legislative action.”

Last week, Johnson’s office put out a memo pointing out 64 policy decisions by Biden and his officials that Republicans argue have undermined border security over the last two years.

Squelching speculation of a third-party presidential run, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday endorsed Nikki Haley for the GOP nomination, saying he feels she “is the strongest chance” for Republicans to win in November.

Hogan told CNN’s “State of the Union” he thinks “it’s pretty clear” that former President Donald Trump will win Monday’s Iowa caucuses,” but that Haley “has all of the momentum” to make her a strong nominee.

Hogan, one of his party’s fiercest Trump critics, had fueled speculation that he was preparing for his own third-party bid when he stepped down from the leadership of No Labels. A resignation letter dated Dec. 15 offered no criticism of the group, and Hogan declined to comment after the letter was obtained earlier this month by The Associated Press.

WATCH: HALEY SUPPORTERS PREDICT OUTCOME OF IOWA CAUCUSES, REVEAL WHO THEY REFUSE TO SUPPORT AS GOP NOMINEE

On Sunday, Hogan said he hadn’t meant to stoke rumors that he was planning his own run when he left the group, saying that he was focused on GOP efforts “to nominate the strongest possible Republican we can.”

“It kind of created a whole lot of speculation,” Hogan said. “I didn’t mean to do that. My position on No Labels has not changed.”

No Labels is seeking ballot access across the country as it lays the groundwork for a possible presidential ticket. The plans have spooked many Democrats and other Trump critics who fear it would siphon votes that would otherwise go to Democratic President Joe Biden and facilitate Trump’s return to the White House.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, seen here speaking at an annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 18, 2022, has endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 GOP nomination. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been locked in a tight battle for second place in Iowa, which holds its leadoff GOP caucus vote on Monday night. The final pre-caucus Des Moines Register/NBC News poll found Trump maintaining a formidable lead in the state, supported by nearly half of likely caucus-goers compared with 20% for Haley and 16% for DeSantis.

Hogan suggested a strong second-place finish for Haley would give her momentum heading into next week’s primary in New Hampshire, where he said “it’s possible she could win, which would put her in much better position when she moves into her home state of South Carolina.’’

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Some had previously hoped that Hogan would seek the GOP nomination this year himself. But in March, Hogan wrote in an op-ed that he wouldn’t run because he cares “more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party.”

Some Republicans had hoped that Hogan, emerging as the new best hope of a small group of “Never Trump Republicans,” would also challenge Trump in 2020. But a year after Hogan’s reelection in 2018, he said that while he appreciated “all of the encouragement” he had received to run for president, he would not. Hogan told AP he had no interest in a “kamikaze mission.”

In the past two presidential elections, Hogan said he did not vote for Trump, the party nominee. Hogan said he wrote in the name of his father, former U.S. Rep. Larry Hogan Sr., in 2016 and the late President Ronald Reagan in 2020.

DES MOINES, Iowa – In a presidential race that’s been underway for more than a year, the voters finally get a say.

Braving frigid below zero temperatures that are punishing the Hawkeye State, Iowans head to more than 1,600 caucus sites on Monday night to cast ballots in the lead off contest of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.

“Tomorrow, Jan. 15, I need each and every one of you to get out. Everybody get out. Just get out and vote,” former President Donald Trump urged his supporters at a rally Sunday in Indianola, Iowa.

The former president is the commanding frontrunner in national surveys and the latest polls in Iowa as he runs a third straight time for the White House. 

WHAT THE FINAL POLL SHOWS BEFORE MONDAY’S IOWA GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

HALEY KNOCKS MEDIA EXPECTATIONS BUT LOOKS TO ‘BIG SHOWING’ IN IOWA

He stood at 50% or higher in a slew of polls over the past month in Iowa and grabbed 48% support in the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers, which was released Saturday night. Former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stood at 20% and 16% in the new survey as they battle for a distant second place.

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has relentlessly campaigned across Iowa in recent months, stood at 8% in the poll. 

The closely watched and highly anticipated survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and is considered the gold standard in Iowa polling by many.

DESANTIS BETS BIG ON IOWA – WILL IT PAY OFF?

DeSantis and Haley questioned whether Trump would meet lofty expectations.

DeSantis’ campaign manager James Uthmeier, in a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” argued that “expectations are high for Trump…he’s got to perform. If he gets less than half the vote, more people voting against him than for him. I think that’s, you know, setting up doom down the road.”

And Haley, in an interview on the same program, noted that people will be looking to see if Trump “is falling below 50%.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, told Fox News “there are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now.”

“One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” noted Kochel, who remains neutral in the Republican presidential caucuses.

Trump and his campaign are taking aim at the high expectations he faces in Iowa.

“No one has ever won the Iowa caucus by more than 12%,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “I think the public polls are a little rich.”

Trump, speaking with reporters on Sunday, said “there seems to be something about 50%.”

“I think they’re doing it so that they can set a high expectation. So if we end up with 49%, which would be about 25 points bigger than anyone else ever got. They can say he had a failure, it was a failure. You know fake news,” he argued.

Haley, who launched her presidential campaign nearly a year ago, told supporters at an event Sunday in Ames, Iowa, “I know you’re excited. I’m excited because it’s been 11 months, and it comes down to tomorrow.”

Former UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley holds up a commit to caucus card during a campaign event at Jethro’s BBQ in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Thanks in part to well-regarded debate performances, Haley enjoyed plenty of momentum in the late summer and autumn. In recent weeks, she caught up with DeSantis for second place in national surveys and the polls in Iowa.

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place, thus narrowing the gap with Trump, in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar, eight days after Iowa’s caucuses.

Speaking with Fox News Digital late last week following an energetic campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, Haley touted that “our people are excited. The momentum is real on the ground.”

Haley, who has repeatedly in recent weeks tried to frame the GOP nomination race as a two-candidate battle between her and Trump, pointed toward the former president as she told Fox News on Sunday that “it’s you and me now.”

IT’S NOT AN ELECTION, SO HOW DO THE IOWA CAUCUSES WORK?

DeSantis stressed “we’ve done it the right way” while standing in front of a jam-packed room at the Iowa headquarters of a super PAC supporting his White House bid.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes the microphone after being introduced at an event in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivai)

The Florida governor has spent much of his time and resources in Iowa and with his presidential campaign arguably on the line in Monday night’s caucuses, DeSantis was urging his supporters to brave the bitter cold to show up and vote.

“It’s going to be cold. It’s not going to be pleasant. But if you’re willing to go out there and you’re willing to fight for me, if you’re willing to bring people to the caucus, if you’re willing to brave the elements and be there for the couple of hours you have to be there, if you’re willing to do that, if you’re willing to fight for me on Monday night, then as president I’ll be fighting for you for the next eight years,” DeSantis emphasized.

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS THE IOWA CAUCUSES APPROACH

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to Trump in the Republican race. 

However, after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, and after getting hammered by negative ads, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Now, he’s betting that his vaulted ground game in Iowa, which is heavily reliant on the aligned super PAC Never Back Down, will carry him across the finish line.

“We’ve got a great path going forward,” DeSantis emphasized on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to do well on Monday. We’ve got an unbelievable organization.”

Some pundits question whether DeSantis will stay in the race if he finishes behind Haley on Monday night.

When asked if he is heading on to New Hampshire regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis reiterated his response from a Fox Digital interview on Friday – “we’re going to be in New Hampshire.”

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Trump, who narrowly lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, has dramatically stepped up his campaign operation in the state compared to eight years ago as he aims to quickly wrap up the 2024 nomination.

“We’ve built an operation in over 1,800 caucus locations with straight-up volunteers, neighborhood by neighborhood. They know the area, and they know who’s caucusing in their area, and they’ll be following up with them, making sure they vote,” LaCivita told Fox News.

“Our focus and our premium has been on people…and we think it’s going to bear fruit in a big way,” he predicted.

A large Donald Trump 2024 sign outside the former president’s Iowa campaign headquarters in Urbandale covered by snow. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Blizzard conditions blasted Iowa on Friday and Saturday, with lingering effects into Sunday.

Longtime Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann was confident that the frigid forecast wouldn’t keep Iowans home on caucus night.

“Out of everything – snow, ice and the cold temperatures – the cold temperatures worry me the least,” he told Fox News on Friday.

“If it was today. I would be worried. On Monday, we’re going to have two days of clearing off the roads,” Kaufmann noted. “Iowans can handle the cold. And they know exactly what to do to keep themselves safe.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.