DeSantis visits Iowa as interest grows in likely Trump rival
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Ahead of a widely anticipated presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday introduced himself to an eager audience of Iowa Republicans with a message that leaned toward antagonism towards the left, making him a popular figure among conservatives.
“We will never give in to an awakened crowd,” DeSantis told an audience of more than 1,000 people at the Rhythm City Casino Resort in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport, his first stop in Iowa as he heads for the 2024 Republican Party presidential nomination. “Our state is a place where people wake up to die.”
With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, Republicans in the state are taking a closer look at DeSantis, who is emerging as Donald Trump’s leading challenger. The former president, who is preparing his third nomination for the White House presidency, will be in Davenport on Monday as early signs indicate some Republicans may be looking for someone else to lead the party in the future.
Trump mocked DeSantis’ trip on social media, asking, “Why are people showing up?”
And White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took issue with the Florida governor’s threatening remarks that criticized young transgender people and their parents.
“When … these MAGA Republicans disagree on an issue or a policy, they don’t put forward anything that could be a matter of good faith discussion. They move on to this conversation about “woken up.” … What it turns into is hatred; what it turns into is despicable politics.”
But they showed up, including more than 1,000 on Friday night in the capital, Des Moines, where DeSantis got his biggest standing ovation by accusing schools of seeking to impose a leftist gender and race agenda on students.
“I think we really did a great job drawing a line in the sand and saying that the purpose of our schools is to educate kids, not indoctrinate them,” DeSantis said in an audience at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “Parents should be able to send their kids to school without shoving an agenda down their throats.”
DeSantis appeared with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in Davenport and Des Moines and met with a small contingent of GOP lawmakers in the capital. He also promoted his recently released book The Courage to Be Free.
The visit is an early test of support for DeSantis in the state, which will kick off the Republican nomination next year. Trump remains widely popular among Republicans in Iowa, although positive attitudes towards the former president have waned somewhat since he left the White House. Now, according to a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released on Friday, 80% say they have a positive view of him, up from 91% in September 2021. Eighteen percent have a negative view of Trump.
The polling movement suggests that Iowa Republicans are not particularly committed to Trump for 2024 and are open to other candidates being considered. Although slightly behind the well-known Trump, DeSantis receives a positive rating from the Iowa Republicans – 74% of a positive rating. Notably, DeSantis’ name is well known in a state more than 1,000 miles from his own; only 20% say they don’t know how to evaluate it.
Sandy Bodine said she was impressed with DeSantis as the ballroom was empty after the Friday morning event.
“He is very articulate, seems to have good management sense,” said a former human resources officer at 3M Co.
Bodine will consider attending the 2024 caucuses and supporting DeSantis, although she is not registered with any of the major political parties and has never attended caucuses before. Regardless, Trump cannot run for Bodine, who hails from neighboring Clinton.
“I don’t like Trump,” she said. She “unfortunately” voted for Biden in 2020, she said. “He is not a statesman, and we need a statesman. I see DeSantis as a statesman.”
But others in the crowd suggested they would stay with the former president. Retiree Al Greenfield of Davenport said he came out of curiosity but “I don’t particularly care” about the Florida governor. “He has no experience,” Greenfield, 70, said. “He doesn’t know the swamp.”
Greenfield is a passionate supporter of Trump and plans to host a caucus for him next year.
Diana Ottermann from Bettendorf stood nearby, still considering her options.
“Gov. DeSantis is a wonderful person. I’m for DeSantis, but I’m also for Trump. I haven’t decided yet,” said the 70-year-old pensioner. “So we’ll see how God arranges it and how people vote.”
As DeSantis made his presence known in Iowa, several prominent former Trump supporters urged him to take the next step and announce that he is running.
“More than ever, our country needs a strong leader, someone who gets things done and isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right,” former Pennsylvania Rep. and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lou Barletta tweeted. . “Come on, Ron, your country needs you!”
Barletta accused Trump of disloyalty after the former president endorsed a rival in his gubernatorial primaries.
DeSantis’ visit coincided with a trip to the staff of former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her candidacy for 2024 last month. Trump’s stop on Monday will be his first visit to the state since his last presidential candidacy.
In recent weeks, the DeSantis team has begun interviewing several potential campaign collaborators in key states. Late last month, he met privately with donors, elected officials and national conservative activists to discuss his views, including limiting the teaching of race and sexuality in schools.
DeSantis is expected to announce his candidacy in late spring or early summer, after the end of the Florida legislative session in mid-May.
This expectation is somewhat reminiscent of Iowa’s support for George W. Bush before the 2000 election, albeit with significant differences, said Iowa GOP veteran David Oman.
DeSantis, like Bush, is seen as the next generation of a major state Republican governor who won a landslide re-election, said Oman, who was among the Iowa Republicans who helped recruit Bush to run.
Bush swept into Iowa to much fanfare in June 1999 and won the Iowa caucuses the following year en route to the 2000 Republican Party nomination and the White House. Significantly, Bush enjoyed hands-on work in Iowa with his father, former President George W. Bush, who forged a strong relationship during his 1980 and 1988 Iowa campaigns.
“There is another former president in this cycle. Only he is not interested in helping the first candidate,” Oman said, referring to Trump. “W was the overwhelming favorite in Iowa. I don’t think there is a clear favorite this time.”
___
AP writers Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
___
The second paragraph of this story has been corrected to make the quote “where one wakes up to die” rather than “where the crowd wakes up to die”.
Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed without permission.
Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News
