DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Competition between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis is heating up as the former president plans a return trip to Iowa on the same day that Florida’s governor would already be in the state where the kickoff will take place. Republican race for the White House.
A Trump campaign official said Saturday that the former president plans to be in Iowa on May 13 to lead an organizing rally at a sprawling park in downtown Des Moines. That was when DeSantis would already be headlining Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra’s annual summer fundraiser in northwestern Iowa and was scheduled to speak at a party fundraiser in Cedar Rapids later that night.
The Trump campaign official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the trip before it was announced, said the Des Moines rally has been in the planning stages for weeks and is focused on identifying caucus supporters and volunteers.
The move is a sign of escalating competition between the two men who are, at least for now, the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump and his allies are increasingly emboldened in their efforts to attack and marginalize DeSantis, who is expected to announce his bid for the White House sometime after the Florida legislature completes its work in the coming week.
But Trump’s journey is also notable for its emphasis on the kind of ground-based organization vital to Iowa politics that was often lacking during his 2016 campaign, when Texas Senator Ted Cruz overtook him and the GOP caucuses of the state won.
Trump is focused almost exclusively on berating DeSantis, whom he has attacked for policy stances on entitlement reform, his loyalty to conservative causes, and even his character. While DeSantis has largely ignored Trump’s jabs, a pro-DeSantis super political action committee, Never Back Down, began responding in paid advertising this month.
Meanwhile, the super-PAC promoting DeSantis hires Iowa personnel to organize support for the governor before he enters the race.
The stakes are particularly high for both men in Iowa, where the February primary offers them opportunities to cement their status atop the GOP. However, a poor performance would provide an opening for other Republicans to mount a fledgling campaign.
Trump’s 2016 campaign in Iowa was a brutal operation unevenly run by newcomers to the campaign who, including the candidate, had no idea what the primary is. The roughly 1,700 district-level Republican political rallies, remnants of prairie civilian life, include a question about the president’s preference, but require in-person participation on a typically frigid winter night.
Eight years ago, Trump’s Iowa team had left contact information for about 10,000 Iowans willing to support him, unprocessed for the primary, where Trump had led in run-up polls but fell short against Cruz’s more organized campaign.
Armed with not only sophisticated 2016 caucus data, but also information gathered during two national campaigns, Trump’s advisers say they are developing a data and digital engagement strategy that they believe would put him in a position to win the caucuses. It’s an expectation that Iowa GOP strategists say is an absolute must for the former president, who comfortably carried Iowa through the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
Meantime Never Back Down, led by DeSantis’ senior strategist for the 2022 Florida reelection campaign, Phil Cox, has included Iowa Republican operatives in its roster as it seeks to tap interested GOP activists as the Iowa 2024 campaign kicks off go. Among them are Ryan Koopmans, the former Chief of Staff of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The group has been airing TV ads for weeks in Iowa and other early voting states, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, and plans to launch another on Monday.
