Donald Trump has called for a show of strength in Iowa, believing he will be more decisive in the November election if he wins the Republican presidential caucuses in January.
As the first contest for the 2024 Republican nomination approaches, Trump has ramped up his campaign schedule, making visits in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids in the afternoon. Polls taken in the late summer among likely attendees of the Republican caucuses showed Trump with a commanding lead over his competitors.
Trump is scheduled to return to Iowa in the middle of October when both Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley will be there to take advantage of the renewed interest in their campaigns that have arisen in the wake of the two GOP presidential debates.
Trump’s gathering in Waterloo, which attempted to get people to vow to vote for him in the caucuses on January 15, drew 1,700 people. As a result of his popularity in the state and the country at large, hundreds more people waited outside.
Caucuses are precinct-level, party-run events where party members register the first votes of the 2024 GOP campaign, and Trump’s advisers have stated they expect him to win. Other candidates are threatening Trump’s lead in Iowa. This week, DeSantis’ campaign announced that 20 national campaign staffers would relocate from Florida to Iowa to defeat Trump in the Hawkeye State. DeSantis (the current Governor of Florida) and Haley (the former ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina) were set to campaign in Iowa this weekend.
The Trump campaign claims it is now doing a more systematic, data-driven effort in the state. People who attend his rallies are encouraged to text a specific number to register their interest in volunteering for the campaign, attending caucuses on his behalf, or both.
