Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, told Newsmax on Monday that despite the frigid weather in Iowa, residents are prepared to do their "civic duty" in kicking off the nominating contests for the November elections.
"Look, we are going to be meeting in church basements, in high school gymnasiums, in some cases, literally people's living rooms," Nunn said during an appearance on "Wake Up America." "Here's what's great about Iowa: we are the starting bell for this. Cold weather in Iowa is a fact of life. I was just out shoveling my driveway with snowdrifts; it's 40 degrees below with the wind chill here, but that's January in Iowa, and this is how Iowans operate. We're going to do not only our constitutional duty, but also our civic duty to get out there and make sure that these caucuses are a huge success."
"We've got some great candidates who have been spending time in the state, and you're going to see a number of Iowans who really want to get out there and fight, not just for our next president and commander in chief, but making sure that we're winning up and down the ballot," he added. "That's what caucuses are about."
When asked if he expected any surprises to come out of Monday's caucuses, Nunn said the Hawkeye State's job is just to get the ball rolling on the national nominating process.
"Iowa's job is not to pick the winner," he said. "It's, as I say, as a farm kid, to smell out the stuff that's not exactly fit for the White House and more for the field, and that's the manure that goes with it. We got a ticket for about three people to get out of Iowa, and then Americans get the chance to decide. Now, what's going to be important today is that teams have good organization on the ground, that they help folks who need to be able to get to the caucus sites there. And we're also looking at how we can make sure that our candidates up and down the ballot are successful."
Commenting on a recent Suffolk University poll that showed immigration as the number one issue for caucus goers, Nunn said that there are a number of "direct threats" facing Iowa due to the current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I am a military member," he said. "I've flown operations along and protected our southern border, both in my activity capacity and then in the National Guard here with Iowa. We're seeing not only Iowa be a border state, but the reality is that we have direct threats coming from fentanyl, coming from human trafficking, coming from China and others who are inserting people into the United States and setting up a real apparatus here that threatens the United States."
"Now, the Republican Party has led on this," he continued. "One of the first bills — I'm a first-term member of Congress — we passed was H.R. 2 to protect our southern border. Voters are going to have the chance to make their voice known tonight, not just on who the candidate should be, but on what type of policies they want to see for this country."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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