The Iowa caucuses have left this Monday a clear winner, Donald Trump, but in the Eternity beat Divided States of Americaor at least those that still, or for the moment, under the surface of the overwhelming dominance of the former president, also separate the Republican Party.
Eternity is a evangelic church Located in a modern building on the outskirts of Des Moines, the capital. It is the one that EL PERIÓDICO has chosen to witness the election day and this voting process that is as archaic and homemade as it is democratic and transparent.
This is where Ron DeSantisshortly after the disastrous launch of his campaign in a Twitter Spaces, came down from cyberspace to earth, began to put boots on the ground and held his first meeting with the voters of Iowa. And today those of a Clive precinct, the town that hosts the church, have compensated him.
38 of the 119 people who have voted have done so for him, compared to 35 who have voted for Trump, 31 for Nikki Haley and the 11 and four who have voted, respectively, for Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinsontwo candidates who have stopped by here to try to convince voters at the last minute (obviously without much success).
Abortion, strength
DeSantis voters have included people like Zachary and Janae Kapfer, a young Christian couple with five children. For them the position pro-life It is the fundamental issue of any political decision. That moved them in 2016 to vote for Ted Cruz in the then caucus. Also to support Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. But his view of the former president has soured since he said that he would not support a national veto to the abortionalthough after 20 weeks of gestation.
“If he ends up being the presidential nominee against Joe Biden I will vote for him again but I will have to do it holding my nose, choosing the lesser of two evils,” she says.
On the other side of the auditorium, on the left side of the stalls where 97 residents of West Des Moines sit, Trump has ended up winning, as in all of Polk County. And he has done it with votes from older people like Mary, with her walker, or newcomers in the process like Gabe Ingram, who at 18 years old is making his debut in the caucuses.
“There is a lot of talk about the political apathy of youth but I think that young people are starting to worry more,” he says. “We want the next generations to have a country to grow, to thrive, and I think that is in danger now,” she says.
Prayer, oaths and voting
Both listen to the pastor who, shortly after seven in the afternoon, and after he has explained how the process will work and the first bureaucratic steps have been taken, makes a prayer asking for the blessing of the caucus. “In this state we have great responsibility and a privilege to participate in the functioning of the Government,” she begins. “The people of the world are watching us so we ask you, Father, to give us the ability to care for each other, not just here but in every precinct in the state.” He also asks for “a good result” and says “thank you for the opportunity.”
“Amen,” those present then respond in unison, the same way they recite the Oath of Allegiance to the United States and its flag before getting the caucus underway.
Then come the short speeches with which the last attempt is made to convince the voters. Governor Asa Hutchinson appears to personally make his last plea, a prayer that will later prove unattended. Next, a man in a red shirt speaks, not without nerves, to ask for a vote for Trump. At that moment the alerts begin to enter the phone. Trump has already been declared the winner.
In Eternity it doesn’t matter. His vote will also count.
Katie Hall then reads a message from her cell phone prepared by Nikki Haley. She is, as she will later explain in an interview, independent. “The central theme for me is giving women options,” she says. “A core Republican value is letting people manage their own lives and this is where the party divides. I’m not sure I’m a Republican anymore.”
Angels from Hell
There are still more speeches: the one made by a citizen in an orange shirt asking to vote for DeSantis, and the one that comes from the mouth of Vivek Ramaswamy himself, who arrives, speaks and leaves surrounded by bodyguards who look like they came from a club. Angels from Hell.
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“I can lead and reach the new generation,” says the candidate, answering some questions from EL PERIÓDICO on that outing. A couple of hours later he would announce that leaves the race and supports Trump (to whom, in another response to this newspaper, he said that he would put “conditions” if he asked him to be his vice president).
Inside, voting has begun. The souls They write the name of their candidate on a piece of paper and they walk through the small queue until put it in an orange envelope. It takes very little time to count the votes, In view of all. Clive announces his results (with DeSantis winning). West Des Moines does the same with its own (Trump first). And while those in charge continue with the last procedures, Eternity is emptying.