Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis make competing trips this week to Iowa, the state whose caucuses lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar
"Do I believe that Donald Trump is ahead in the polls in Iowa? Absolutely. Do I believe that the Iowa caucuses is a done deal? Absolutely not," Kaufmann said."It’s not in our nature to do that. And I think a lot of Iowans would be reticent about calling a caucus before January when we actually have it.
" Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Monday, March 13, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. Earlier this month Trump and DeSantis scheduled rival events in Iowa — with the Florida governor headlining events in both the western and eastern parts of the state to fundraise for fellow Republicans, while Trump planned to hold what was billed as a large rally in Des Moines. After Trump’s event was canceled at the last minute due to severe weather warnings, DeSantis made an unscheduled stop in Iowa’s capital city on Saturday night and spoke with supporters at a barbeque joint just a couple of blocks from where the Trump rally would have been.Showcasing his commitment to campaigning in Iowa, DeSantis added that"we obviously have a lot in common with Iowa in terms of what Florida has done and what they've done under Gov. Kim Reynolds. And I think the groundswell of support has been really, really strong. We're going to press the case." Never Back Down, the deep-pocketed super PAC supporting DeSantis, has hired political operatives in Iowa as they’ve built up a field operation, sent out mailers, organized events, and showcased a slew of endorsements by state lawmakers., who narrowly edged Trump to win the 2016 Iowa caucuses thanks in part to strong support from social conservative voters. The Trump campaign is cognizant of the DeSantis efforts in Iowa. "I understand everything they’re doing to try to make it into a competitive race, and we will fight as it as a competitive race to the end, but the challenges they face to bring the race into a competitive stature are much greater," senior Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita argued in a statement."Anyone underestimating President Trump’s willingness to campaign is making a huge mistake. People will see plenty of Donald Trump." The Trump campaign says they’ve upped their game since 2016, when their organizational skills in Iowa were criticized.Iowa’ has seen plenty of campaign traffic so far this year, with numerous visits from former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign in February, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina — who declared his candidacy last week — as well as three other declared presidential candidates: former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; multimillionaire entrepreneur, best-selling author and conservative commentator Vivek Ramaswamy; and businessman Perry Johnson. And former Vice President Mike Pence, who’s expected to launch a 2024 campaign in the coming days, has also heavily traveled through Iowa.Kaufmann spotlighted that"there is more than one ticket out of Iowa," as he pointed to Trump’s second-place finish in 2016 caucuses, narrowly behind Cruz, the eventual nomination runner-up for the nomination. He emphasized that candidates who over-perform in the caucuses"can leave Iowa with some momentum for the long game. And that’s what Iowa’s all about. It’s the beginning of the long game."Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
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