2024 election polls LIVE: Haley and DeSantis vie for second place in Iowa caucus race

In Sergeant Bluff, Iowa – an area outside of Sioux Falls – Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis met briefly with voters to encourage turnout.

“Are you ready to brave the frigid temperatures?” Mr DeSantis told voters.

The governor gave a quick speech in a last-ditch effort to sway potential voters in his favour. Final polling from Iowa showed Mr DeSantis in third place behind former president Donald Trump and Ms Haley.

Sub-zero temperatures mixed with icy and snowy conditions have left some concerned that voter turnout could be lower than usual.

“The GOP could not be a party wherein he could have potential apprentices who could usurp him. Rather, he needed subservient lieutenants who could not replace him.

Tonight, Mr Trump is set to finish his conquest of the GOP as he dethrones Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis. Mr Trump already steadily put Ms Haley under his thumb when he absorbed her into his administration and made her US ambassador to the United Nations despite her lack of foreign policy credentials.

By doing so, he neutered someone who offered a more enticing version of the GOP – the daughter of Indian American immigrants with sterling conservative credentials who nonetheless appealed to Democrats. “

Tonight the presidential election season kicks off with the Iowa caucus – taking place at precincts in all 99 counties of Iowa.

The caucus will begin at 7pm CT (8pm ET) and results are expected to begin coming in around half an and hour after the start time, consultant Patrick Stewart told The Des Moines Register.

Early results will likely come from smaller precincts as larger ones have more votes to count. The larger counties’ results will likely arrive a few hours after the caucus begins.

Fuller results that will indicate how each candidate performed should be available well into the evening.

This weekend, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley got an unexpected jolt when the final NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll showed her beating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis–though she still trails former president Donald Trump by 28 points.

The numbers no doubt give her a boost ahead of the caucuses and show how quickly Mr DeSantis has fallen when he’s staked his entire campaign on Iowa. Ms Haley also hopes for a good showing in a state where she did not campaign ahead of the New Hampshire, where she has spent a heave amount of time campaigning. But a closer examination shows that Ms Haley’s support is more wobbly.

For one, the poll showed that only 64 per cent of Haley supports said that their mind is made up, which is about the same as the number of DeSantis supporters. It’s also significantly lower than the 82 per cent of Mr Trump supporters who say their mind is made up.

Ms Haley also does not have the same level of enthusiasm among her supporters., only 9 per cent of Ms Haley’s supporters say that they are “extremely enthusiastic” about supporting her and 30 per cent are “very enthusiastic.” By comparison, 23 per cent of Mr DeSantis’s supporters are “extremely enthusiastic” and 39 per cent say they are “very enthusiastic.” That could make or break Ms Haley’s performance in the midst of the bitter cold after a blizzard.

Furthermore, Ms Haley has high unfavourable numbers, as 48 per cent of those polled saying they have a favourable opinion of her and 46 per cent saying they have an unfavourable opinion of her.

Those unfavourable numbers are certain to go up as the campaign continues, particularly as Mr Trump and Mr DeSantis continue to hone their attacks on her.

In Pella, Iowa – a small town approximately 30 miles outside of Des Moines – former UN ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley spent time speaking with voters intimately.

Ms Haley swapped her typical stage to get more personal with locals. Photos from a local bread shop in town showed her taking a tour, speaking with potential voters and even doting on babies.

With a packed schedule this year due to a series of court cases and campaign events, former president Donald Trump has a team of allies helping him get the word out in Iowa ahead of the caucus.

Congressional members Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Byron Donalds, Ronny Jackson, Jason Smith, Derrick Van Orden, Mike Collins, Andrew Clyde, Wesley Hunt and Mike Waltz joined forces to speak with voters and rally support behind Mr Trump.

Other people like Kari Lake, Billy Long and Kristi Noem did the same.

The group addressed voters in Fort Dodge, Iowa on Monday, hours ahead of the caucus

With former president Donald Trump taking a sweeping lead over the other 2024 Republican candidates, the Iowa caucus will likely be an early election determining the number two spot. And Nikki Haley is shaping up to be the most likely contender.

In a recent poll, conducted by The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom, of the people claiming to support Ms Haley, 51 per cent say they previously supported a different candidate.

Both Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis are fighting for the spot that will serve as the alternative Republican candidate to Mr Trump.

Mr DeSantis, who was once considered the most viable candidate, has had trouble driving momentum in supporting his campaign.

But Ms Haley has successfully grown her campaign.

Despite low polling numbers and minimal campaign coverage, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson has remained a contender in the 2024 presidential race.

On X, formerly Twitter, Mr Hutchinson said he spent Sunday evening bowling with campaign volunteers in Waukee, Iowa.

“Good campaigning and fun,” he wrote.

Iowans are preparing for the coldest state caucus on record, with several inches of snow and arctic temperatures across the state on Monday.

The caucus is a much-anticipated event considered the beginning of the presidential election season. The Iowa Republican caucuses will determine how many of the state’s 40 Republican National Convention delegates each candidate will get.

Mid-day, temperatures in Iowa are at 0°F or below as the state faces a record winter storm on the same day as the caucus.

In the state capital of Des Moines, the temperature around 1:00pm CT was zero degrees.

In Cedar Rapids, it was -4°F.