Iowa has long been a proving ground for U.S. presidential candidates. As Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis square off for the 2024 Republican nomination, the state性视界传媒檚 vote has rarely been more crucial.
For Trump, the former president seeking another term after losing in 2020, Iowa性视界传媒檚 Jan. 15 caucus represents the best chance to vanquish his rivals and march toward a rematch with President Joe Biden. For DeSantis, the Florida governor whose rebellion against pandemic restrictions made him a conservative folk hero, winning the state would cement his status as an alternative to Trumpism.
Iowa 性视界传媒渋s way more important than it has been in any other cycle,性视界传媒 said Terry Sullivan, a GOP strategist who ran Florida Senator Marco Rubio性视界传媒檚 2016 presidential campaign. 性视界传媒淭rump has built everything on being this invincible candidate. If he does not win there, that is punctured and this becomes a real race.性视界传媒
At a time when social media and cable news shape the national view of candidates, Iowa stands out as a place where old-fashioned campaigning can be the difference between winning and losing. The Midwestern state性视界传媒檚 first-in-the-nation status means residents have come to expect that candidates will pay them lots of attention.
In-person visits and on-the-ground organizing matter because of the state性视界传媒檚 性视界传媒渜uirky and high maintenance voters,性视界传媒 Sullivan says.
DeSantis grasped the importance of winning Iowa early and has rarely been outside its borders for long since starting his campaign. He vowed to visit all 99 of the state性视界传媒檚 counties, and he has made it to 58 so far, throwing baseballs with his kids, visiting rural county fairs and posing for selfies with voters.
With DeSantis logging so much face time with voters, Trump has ramped up his visits to the state in recent weeks. He made three stops in the past week, including an impromptu drop-in to a pizza parlor where he passed out pizza boxes and signed the white tank top one woman was wearing.
History of surprises
Both Trump and DeSantis say they are in a position to win. DeSantis told a local Iowa TV reporter that his team was 性视界传媒渨ay ahead of where other previous Iowa caucus winners have been at this point in the process.性视界传媒 Trump, at the start of a post-Labor Day tour of the state in Maquoketa, told supporters, 性视界传媒渨e性视界传媒檙e going to win the Iowa caucuses in a historic landslide.性视界传媒
At the Trump event, Gerald Retzlaff, chairman of the Jones County Republican Party, said he supported all the candidates, but said he thought that Trump had the most experience and didn性视界传媒檛 need to campaign as heavily.
性视界传媒淲hen you get 5,000 people at an event, you don性视界传媒檛 need to have as many events. People are driving a long ways to come and see them,性视界传媒 Retzlaff said. 性视界传媒淩on DeSantis is a great guy, but he性视界传媒檚 not drawing like Donald Trump, so he needs to have more events to get exposure like Donald Trump.性视界传媒
Longtime political operatives caution, however, that Iowa can shock people 性视界传媒 and that the state doesn性视界传媒檛 always anoint the nominee.
性视界传媒淩ick Santorum kind of came from the back of the field in 2012 and Ted Cruz did it in 2016, defeating Donald Trump here eight years ago, and Mike Huckabee did it in 2008,性视界传媒 said Ralph Reed, president of the evangelical group Faith and Freedom. 性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 a history here of surprises and I would say it is going to be highly competitive and hard fought and nothing should be taken for granted.性视界传媒
