A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
As we near the end of a long and winding road of this 2024 presidential campaign, many of its crucial moments can be traced back to the Midwest. Clay Masters witnessed many of those moments, first at Iowa Public Radio and now at Minnesota Public Radio. So, Clay, set this up for us. You covered the early start of the presidential nominating process for the last 12 years in Iowa. So what stood out for you right away this year?
CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE: Democrats decided to move on from Iowa being first after the caucuses in 2020 were a debacle, to say the least. The Democratic National Committee subbed Michigan in for Iowa as being a representative for Midwest in the early window. But Republicans decided to stick with tradition and have Iowa go first. And that's why for Republicans, at least, the beginning of the presidential nominating process started the same way it has for the last half-century, with politicians having photo ops in Iowa well before most voters are even paying attention. Like former Republican Vice President Mike Pence, who was asked in February of last year to comment on whether former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley might have some competition.
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MIKE PENCE: She may have more company soon in the race for president. And I promise folks here in Iowa and all of you, I'll keep you posted.
MASTERS: But there was one person looming over all this, former President Donald Trump, who denied the results of his last election loss and had already announced he was running. Early on, Iowans like Glenda Swegle seemed ready for new choices.
GLENDA SWEGLE: I mean, my 401(k) did really great when he was president, and now it's not. But I need - we need people - somebody with better character.
MASTERS: Swegle was supporting Haley. And as the nominating contest moved to more states, other voters showed up for Haley, even after she had dropped out of the race, showing that some GOP voters weren't fully ready to send Trump back to the White House. The day before the bitterly cold Iowa caucuses, a relatively unknown Democratic governor from a nearby state came south to counterprogram.
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TIM WALZ: So it doesn't truly matter who's on that ballot. It's the same flavor. The one thing is, it's going to be Donald Trump because I don't believe the Republican Party can get out of the grips of this.
MASTERS: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's quips would get more attention as his national profile would rise. Trump did win with over half the support of Iowa voters who caucused that night.
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DONALD TRUMP: We want to thank the great people of Iowa. Thank you. We love you all.
MASTERS: Just 15% of registered Iowa Republican voters caucused, but that small sample size was enough for Trump to say his party should be ready to coalesce around him.
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TRUMP: What a turnout. What a crowd. And I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together. We want to come together.
MASTERS: The first place Democratic voters in the Midwest made their voices heard was Michigan. A grassroots campaign there helped organize a protest vote over President Biden's support for Israel's war with Hamas. Biden won the state with more than 618,000 votes, but more than 100,000 primary voters chose uncommitted on their ballots. Here's organizer Abbas Alawieh, talking with activists in other states right after their February primary.
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ABBAS ALAWIEH: We want our tax dollars funding the things that we care about here at home. We're an anti-war movement, and we are flexing our power.
MASTERS: The movement spread to other states, sending 36 delegates to their convention. More than 3,800 were pledged to Biden. But after an abysmal debate performance against Trump, Biden announced he would no longer seek the nomination. Delegates were quick to coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris. She accepted her party's nomination in Chicago.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.
MASTERS: Suddenly, there was an entirely new presidential race on America's hands, and the sparsely populated middle of America would continue to shape the party's decisions.
MARTÍNEZ: Clay Masters of Minnesota Public Radio is still with us. Clay, you pointed out some of the cracks that were exposed as the nominating process took us through the Midwest. How do we see some of that in these final days?
MASTERS: We could see the tensions playing out in both major political parties during the primaries. And now, in a race where it's all about the margins, you can bet the Harris campaign is looking to pick up some of those one-time disenchanted Haley voters, just as the Trump campaign is searching to get some of those uncommitted Democratic voters to go with them and just look at who their running mates are. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance both with Midwest working-class roots. And where are two of those swing states they need to pick up located? The Midwest. And I should note, too, one electoral vote in Nebraska.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters. Clay, thanks.
MASTERS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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