Iowa campaign trail goes cold as winter storms hit Midwest

The heat of the presidential race is on ice in Iowa as wicked winter weather snarls travel into and around the Hawkeye State.

With all of Iowa’s 99 counties under National Weather Service storm advisories, Republicans Marco Rubio and Chris Christie were forced to cancel live events, while Ted Cruz called off a “tele-town hall meeting” with Iowa-based supporters because he couldn’t get to a phone.

“He is in a plane and he is unable to land because of the weather,” a Cruz campaign spokesman told Radio Iowa, “so we are going to have to postpone our event.”

Early Monday, Christie canceled an event in Dubuque, promising to make another in Davenport later in the afternoon. But the massive storm front eventually led the New Jersey governor to scrap the late event, too.

Rubio postponed a town hall in Burlington early, tweeting that it would be rescheduled. He is expected to appear in the state on Tuesday alongside Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, who announced Saturday he would campaign alongside Rubio this week.

One candidate who hasn’t been held up: Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. The Democrat held an event Sunday night in Des Moines and was back at it early Monday at a roundtable in Webster City. All of his events, including a couple more on Monday and four on Tuesday “will happen regardless of snow,” the campaign told CNN.