And heading into the last weekend before the contest, Donald Trump appears headed to comfortable victory.
His chief rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, aren't exactly nipping at his heels.
They're eating his dust.
"We're leading massively in Iowa. We're leading very big in New Hampshire."
Political website FiveThirtyEight, which compiles an average of public opinion polls, pegs Trump's support in Iowa at 52 percent, more than 30 percentage points above Haley or DeSantis.
The only question that remains might be whether the former president pulls off a blowout victory in the first nominating state large enough to essentially end the contest just as it starts.
Opinion polls indicate former Haley is closing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 23.
"But no more going hat-in-hand to Saudi Arabia. No more getting dirty oil from Iran or Venezuela."
DeSantis has slipped in New Hampshire polls, but is banking on a breakout performance in Iowa to revive his campaign.
"I don't want to go, hat-in-hand to Saudi Arabia and beg for energy. I don't want to have to rely on Venezuela."
One Republican strategist told Reuters Trump needs to win by at least 15 to 20 percentage points or risk losing the air of inevitability, a situation that could allow Haley or DeSantis to pick up momentum at a critical juncture in the race.
Two factors that could damped Trump's margin of victory could be voter complacency if they think he's a shoe-in, and a winter storm moving over the farm-heavy state Friday.
"I hope people, uh, turn out in big numbers. I know it's not easy. Um, you know, I'm asking for your support on caucus night."
Alex Hull in Des Moines is bracing for a frigid day at the polls.
"I expect a great turnout, but we just never know. We never know how much snow we're actually going to get tomorrow, and then it's going to get super cold Sunday and Monday. I think the high is like, negative four at the moment."
And some voters, such as Jake Kopsa, are still undecided.
"I haven't, I honestly haven't been like following it too much, but I guess I got all weekend to figure it out."
A Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this week shows Republicans broadly supportive of Trump, particularly on his hardline immigration policies.
Sixty-nine percent of Republicans said they agreed with a statement that "illegal immigrants should be arrested and put in detention camps while awaiting deportation hearings."
Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history if re-elected.
But his many legal challenges are a key risk for his shot at winning back the presidency, with 49% of independents saying they would not vote for him if he were convicted by a jury.
