Iowa
Republican-only 2024 caucuses in Iowa reflect its deepening red hue
On freezing nights main as much as Iowa’s essential first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, the Des Moines Marriott Downtown’s bar often brims with journalists, marketing campaign operatives, political vacationers, and diverse others. In 2024, the group could also be lighter.
Democrats have nixed Iowa from the premier spot on the get together’s nominating calendar after a half-century of dominance. As an alternative, the 2024 Democratic presidential calendar may have South Carolina within the plum first place on Feb. 3, New Hampshire and Nevada collectively sharing the No. 2 slot on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13, and Michigan on Feb. 27.
GOP REACTS TO DEMOCRATS BREAKING ‘DECADES LONG TRADITION’ IN DNC PRIMARY SHAKE UP
The Democratic Nationwide Committee adopted the brand new calendar on the behest of President Joe Biden’s political operation. Biden is more likely to run for reelection, at age 82, and isn’t anticipated to face critical main opposition.
For Republicans, a minimum of, Iowa remains to be the primary state to vote within the nationwide candidate choice course of. The GOP caucuses are scheduled for Feb. 5.
Former President Donald Trump, attempting to turn into the primary former chief govt to return to the White Home after a four-year break since Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1893, has visited Iowa already and is predicted to be a frequent presence there. So will Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), if he runs. DeSantis at this early stage is seen as Trump’s fiercest rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped a pair of extra GOP candidates already tenting out within the Hawkeye State: former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and “anti-woke” biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The GOP area might quickly develop, with former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) amongst these contemplating bids.
That Republicans may have Iowa to themselves in early presidential motion displays the state’s stark tilt to the correct over the previous decade. Iowa is successfully off the desk for Democrats in presidential politics, together with the now-red states of Florida and Ohio. Former President Barack Obama twice gained all three of the states. And in Iowa, Democrats beforehand had dominated White Home races, with even 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis profitable Iowa amid an in any other case crushing loss to GOP President George H.W. Bush.
From 2016 on, although, Iowa has been blood pink. Trump gained Iowa by about 8 factors in opposition to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and in opposition to President Joe Biden in 2020. And on Capitol Hill, Iowa’s whole congressional delegation, two senators and 4 Home members, are all Republican. So are the governorship and majorities in each state legislative chambers.
Theories differ about why Iowa has turned so strongly Republican after many years as one of many nation’s closest battleground states. Some liken the robust occasions Iowa’s farmers have skilled to the drain of producing jobs in Ohio, making residents extra prepared to take heed to Trump’s protectionist message on commerce coverage. Others be aware Iowa’s lack of a deep-blue space overflowing with Democratic voters. Not like different higher Midwestern states, similar to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, it’s not ruled by a single massive metro space. Des Moines doesn’t have the dominance of the Twin Cities or Milwaukee, not to mention Chicago.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
All of this implies Republicans are unlikely to ditch Iowa as their first-voting state the way in which Democrats have. And Iowa, within the run-up to February 2024, will doubtless hear from just one get together’s candidates: these on the GOP facet.
However with a Trump-based area, one that will but embody extra candidates, Iowa nonetheless figures to host plenty of political motion — sufficient to fill a lodge bar in Des Moines on a chilly winter night time, even when the Democrats could also be absent.
Iowa
Titans Linked to Sleeper Iowa State WR
Heading into the NFL offseason, the top question surrounding the Tennessee Titans will be about what they’re going to do at the quarterback position.
Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are clearly not clear-cut options long-term.
Outside of that question, the Titans will also need to figure out how to add more weapons for whoever their starting quarterback ends up being. Pursuing another quality wide reciever should be something that they try to do.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, there are ways for Tennessee to address both of those issues. Taking a look at wide receivers in the third or fourth round would make a lot of sense.
With that in mind, Justin Melo of Titan Sized has suggested a sleeper wide receiver out of Iowa State. In his recent five-round mock draft, Melo had the Titans taking Jayden Higgins in the fourth round.
“Are the Titans going to reunite Tee Higgins with Brian Callahan? Callahan’s offense will need an offseason addition to play “X” receiver next season. If Higgins proves to be too expensive, drafting a big-bodied weapon like Jayden Higgins offers an alternative route. Higgins does an outstanding job high-pointing the football at the catch point,” Melo wrote.
Higgins has put together an impressive 2024 season with the Cyclones. He has caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns.
Standing in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins would bring great size to the Tennessee wide receiver room. His size would make him a lethal threat, especially in red zone situations.
Throughout his entire college career, Higgins has racked up 227 receptions for 3,317 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has proven himself to be a more than capable playmaker.
Taking a flier on him in the fourth round would be a very wise investment. He may not pan out, but if he reaches his full potential he could end up developing into a starter.
He may be a sleeper and wouldn’t be a “flashy” addition, but Higgins has all of the makings of being a draft steal for a team like the Titans who could use a little more help at the position.
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Iowa
Runnin’ Utes give up 2nd half lead as Iowa pulls away for 95-88 win
SOUIX FALLS, S.D. — Iowa’s defense was smothering, and Utah did little to help itself on offense by starting the game shooting just 12.5% from the floor.
It was another first-half slow start against a Quad 1 opponent this season.
But unlike in previous Quad 1 games, where Utah allowed the opposing team run away with an early double-digit lead, the Runnin’ Utes fought back. And it was Mason Madsen, who earned his first start of the season, who provided the game-changing spark.
Madsen got a defensive rebound, and then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to open up three straight 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give Utah its first lead of the game.
From there, Utah found its offense to control a 4-point lead at the halftime break before building up the lead to 10 in the second half.
Iowa didn’t back down, though, and slowly chipped away at the lead before eventually pulling away for a 95-88 win at the Sanford Pentagon in the Utah’s final nonconference game of the season.
Madsen finished with 24 points, including going 6-of-11 from 3-point range, six rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t enough to contend with Iowa’s offensive attack late. Lawson Lovering added 25 points, four rebounds and two assists in the loss.
Iowa forward Payton Sandfort led the charge in the second half and contributed a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while four other Iowa players finished in double-digit scoring.
Utah opened up the game shooting just 1-of-8 from the field as Iowa took an early 9-2 lead that was also helped by a defense that forced the Utes into late-shot situations and poor looks. Little by little, Utah found a way to get back into the game, largely by Madsen’s hot shooting and Lovering’s strong post play.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Ezra Ausar hit two free throws to give the Utes a team-high 11-point lead. Over the next five minutes, Iowa slowly chipped away at Utah’s lead and made it a 4-point game with 14:13 left to play.
Utah made only 2 points over the next three minutes as Iowa cut the lead to a single possession before Drew Thelwell hit a 3-pointer with 10:47 left for the go-ahead score. Once Iowa reclaimed the lead, there was little Utah could do over the final 10 minutes of game time to stop the Hawkeyes’ lead from growing.
Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer who averages 17.2 points per game, got into foul trouble and was forced to sit for much of the game — including picking up a fourth foul with just under 11 minutes to play — but finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, while adding three blocks in just 19 minutes of play.
Thelwell and Josh Nix added 15 points apiece, and Brock Harding contributed 12 points to round out Iowa’s top scoring.
Utah closes out nonconference play with an 8-3 record, with all three losses coming against Quad 1 opponents. The Utes resume action on Dec. 31 in Waco, Texas, to start Big 12 play against Baylor.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Iowa
Extra Point: What Awaits Miami in the Pop-Tart Bowl vs. Iowa State?
When the Miami Hurricanes and Cam Ward take the field against the Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 28, the Hurricanes will see an offense much like some they faced this season in ACC play.
The Cyclones are no pushover, and have the numbers to back that up. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht tossed for over 3,200 yards this season and 22 touchdowns, most of which came at the hands of leading receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught for almost 1,200 yards on his own. Higgins has also pulled down a team-leading nine touchdowns thus far in the season, and will be looking to add to that total in the bowl game against the Hurricanes.
Those are just the surface level stats, though. Iowa State has some other weapons that could give the Miami defense some issues as well. For instance, their two headed backfield of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III, which combined for over 1,200 yards on the ground this year. Samha is touted as one of the most talented underclassmen in the country, and is predicted by many to secure the starting role in the backfield next season.
Senior wideout Jaylin Noel serves as the team’s second leading receiver, and accounted for another 1,077 yards through the air this year for the cyclones. To put it bluntly, Iowa State has four to five guys on the field that can hurt a defense at all times, and that’s before discussing the defense.
The Cyclone defensive backfield has picked off 14 passes this year, good enough for a top-30 ranking in that category per game. The pass rush may not be what it was for ISU in 2023, but with Cam Ward under center anyway, this game looks to be one decided through the air.
Unless Miami running back Damien Martinez gets going, it looks to be a pair of high-flying offenses duking it out in the Pop Tarts Bowl this year.
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
Technology4 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps
-
News5 days ago
Novo Nordisk shares tumble as weight-loss drug trial data disappoints
-
Politics5 days ago
Illegal immigrant sexually abused child in the U.S. after being removed from the country five times
-
Entertainment6 days ago
'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans
-
Lifestyle6 days ago
Think you can't dance? Get up and try these tips in our comic. We dare you!
-
Technology1 week ago
Fox News AI Newsletter: OpenAI responds to Elon Musk's lawsuit