School gyms and civil voting: inside the Iowa caucuses

The spirit of American democracy was alive and well as Iowans defied the cold to vote. Anyone who interrupted was promptly told to shut up, the only harsh words reserved for The Australian’s US correspondent | WATCH

Supporters Donald Trump cheer during his caucus night event at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Picture: Getty Images

The spirit of American democracy was alive and well in Iowa’s Emerson Elementary School, and the spirit was largely on Donald Trump’s side.

In the small town of Indianola, about 30 kilometres outside the state’s biggest city Des Moines, the gathering at the school was one of hundreds of separate meetings that took place across Iowa on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT).

Iowans proved the pundits, all fretting earnestly about how the coldest polling day in Iowa history would affect turnout, wrong.

Despite minus 22-degree temperatures outside, over 150 Americans or all ages, including one Jim Spiker, a Vietnam vet in his 70s in a wheelchair with oxygen tube, braved the nasty weather, piling into the school gymnasium by 7pm local time to cast their votes for their preferred Republican candidate for president.

Chris and Annie Nelson, who were both voting for the former president said they had no fear of the chill.

“The weather doesn’t matter, we’re Iowans, this is what we do,” Mr Nelson, 39, told The Australian.

“This is the place where you get to be with your neighbours, to talk about the issues that are most important to the people that literally live right next door to you,” he added proudly.

The room split in two groups, reflecting the two Indianola precincts the meeting was serving. After standing to give their pledge of allegiance to the United States, the organiser called for speakers to talk in favour of their preferred candidate: maximum three minutes each, and maximum three speakers in favour of any one candidate.

Jim Spiker, his wife Wanda helping him to his feet, rose to speak in favour of the former president, a sentiment most of the room appeared to share based on enthusiastic applause.

“I am voting for Trump because he’s the only one I trust. Ask yourself one question: am I better off today or was I when Trump was in? The answer is pretty clear,” he told the crowd.

Others spoke in favour of Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, but no-one for Nikki Haley.

A recently retired Todd Clancy, the sole Haley advocate I met, said Trump’s enduring popularity reflected poorly on Americans. “It’s indicative of how divided our country is right now, which is not a good thing,” he said.

Wrapped up in just over an hour, the process was civil and friendly, anyone who interrupted was promptly told to shut up.

A volunteer collects voter ballots at a caucus at Franklin Junior High. Picture: Getty Images

The only harsh words were for this writer. “There’s a job going around the corner at McDonalds if you want an honest job,” one of the Ramaswamy advocates told me when I asked for his name, reflecting the entrenched – and often justified – distrust and disdain many Republicans harbour for the mainstream media in the US.

There were no formal printed ballot papers, attendees simply wrote the name of their preferred candidate and handed it up.

In the end, the results weren’t too dissimilar from the overall state outcome across the two precincts: 95 votes for Donald Trump, 43 for Ron DeSantis, 16 for Vivek Ramaswamy, 15 for Nikki Haley and 1 for local businessman Ryan Binkley.

Guests attend a caucus-night watch party for Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. Picture: AFP

Trump did do much better in the second precinct, scoring 62 per cent of the vote. “They are bit poorer,” one lady informed when I asked what could explain the difference.

Most of the attendees waited for the results there and then: anyone could come forth and scrutineer, but the prevailing atmosphere of trust meant few did. Whatever America’s faults, there’s no other democracy like it.