SIDNEY, IA – Voters at the caucus in Sidney, Iowa, Monday gave former President Donald Trump a 65 percentage-point victory in a packed house at Victory Life Christian Center  despite harsh wind chills outside.

Precinct captain Jill Travis represented the pro-Trump contingent in the crowd of 89 people.

Travis: “For him to set the record straight on trade deals and defending the United States and take a firm stand is the reason I’m backing him because of his morals and values and He has proven – you know how many of us thought was a deep as what it is.

"I had no idea all the corruption that is out there and the depth of the swamp. Our Republican candidates have spoken about draining the swamp and going that distance, President Trump tried and, if you stop and think about the four years he was in the administration all the turmoil that they threw at him each and every day trying to knock him down and who stood up and who kept going.

Even to this day with all the lawsuits they brought against him. Look at the man who is like the Energizer Bunny that takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’ and keeps going and going.”

 

 

Ron DeSantis, who campaigned in Sidney, was second in the voting with 27 percentage points.

Caucuser: “I think he’s pretty comparable with Trump on issues. He just has less baggage and he is going to be able to run for two terms, so that’s why I’m kind of putting my support behind Ron DeSantis.”

Caucuser: “He’s the only veteran running for president and would be the first veteran president to have served in a war since 1988.”

 

Nikki Haley received 10 percent of the votes.

Caucuser: “It is really time to quit trying to alienate half the country and try putting everybody in a silo as ‘I’m this or I’m that.’ … “I’m a pretty staunch conservative. I don’t know that the Republican Party is standing up for a lot of conservative principles necessarily – fiscally responsibility used to be important right? - $8 trillion added on to the debt, to the deficit, the last time we had a Republican president, that’s not that.

“I think Nikki Haley could be somebody who could reach across the border, who can try and work with other people who I do not agree with but we don’t have to agree on everything, we do have to get stuff done. I think that she can potentially get in there, actually make things happen, that means a lot to me.”

Caucusers were also asked for their input on the party platform. They talked about abortion, electric vehicles, education indoctrination, foreign ownership of U.S. land and illegal immigration.

Jill Travis: “Our border was so much more secure under President Trump. He didn’t get to build the wall completely, but he got a dang good start. Right now with our open borders it is utterly ridiculous. If anyone thinks that we don’t live on the border, so we’re not going to be affected by it, you’re crazy. They are everywhere. They’ve imploded the entire country.”

 

Caucus chairman Dave Roberts read the results.

Roberts: “ 58 votes to Donald Trump. 18 votes for Ron DeSantis. Nine for Nikki Haley and four for Vivek Ramaswamy.”

Statewide about 15 percent of Republicans participated in the caucuses.