At one home in Clive, a suburb west of Des Moines, a woman who answered the door quickly invited McCormick and a staffer accompanying him inside and out of the -7-degree weather. Soon, the woman’s husband joined the conversation.

The couple told McCormick that they had been leaning toward supporting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, who most recently has surpassed DeSantis in the polls to take second place. But after a chat with McCormick, the couple said they were ready to support DeSantis instead.

“Positive results; flipping seats,” McCormick told his staff as they headed to the next address on their list.

Rep. Mike Collins spreads Trump’s get-out-the-vote message on caucus eve

DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a freshman lawmaker from Georgia, arrived in Iowa on Sunday after being delayed a day by the weather. Upon arrival, he visited a phone bank where volunteers were making calls to Iowans stressing the importance of participating in Monday’s vote. Collins, R-Jackson, also made some calls of his own.

He said the calls were to ensure that people knew when and where to go caucus and make sure they had a plan to get there. Some roads are still difficult to navigate after last week’s blizzard.

He predicted a good night for Trump as Iowa Republicans become the first in the nation to weigh in on this year’s presidential contest. Referencing a standing-room only rally Trump headlined earlier in the day, Collins said that it is clear the front-runner has an enthusiastic base that is eager to show up for him despite the freezing temperatures.

“If people are standing in line for hours and hours today in weather like this to see President Trump, that’s a resounding endorsement in itself,” he said.

Volunteering alongside Collins was Chris West, the Republican nominee in 2022 for Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District. West was defeated by Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop, but he is considering entering the open contest in the 3rd Congressional District where he now lives.

But West said he didn’t want to talk about Georgia politics; he is focused on helping Trump win in Iowa.

“if you’re a Republican or conservative,” he said, “goal No. 1 for us in getting the country headed in the right direction is getting Donald Trump back in the White House to have the policies put in place to turn our economy back around, to get out of the endless conflicts all over the world, to get our country back in the position that it was four years ago.”