Associated Press
Donald Trump was uncharacteristically serious when he implored an audience in eastern Iowa to carry him to a blowout in next month’s Republican caucuses.
“The margin of victory is very important, it’s just very important,” Trump told about 1,000 people attending a Wednesday rally aimed at organizing campaign volunteers. “It’s time for the Republican Party to unite, to come together and focus our energy and resources on beating Crooked Joe Biden and taking back our country. Very simple.”
For the blustery former president, it was both caution against complacency and a sign that he and his team believe the first contest on Jan. 15 can be not just the start of the nominating campaign, but the beginning of the end.
Trump is the overwhelming favorite to win Iowa, one month away from the caucuses. A myriad of well-qualified GOP challengers and anti-Trump groups haven’t changed that dynamic after crisscrossing the state over the last year and spending more than $70 million in Iowa on advertising, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. And unlike his first time in the caucuses, which he narrowly lost in 2016, Trump’s campaign is now run by Iowa veterans who are not just locking in caucus commitments but building a formidable organization to try to lock in his lead.
Among rival campaigns, most question not whether Trump will win, but by how much — and whether a second-place finisher can claim momentum for the rest of the race.
Trump was the first choice of 51% of likely Iowa caucus participants in a Des Moines Register-NBC News-Mediacom Iowa Poll published Monday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has vowed that he will win Iowa, had the support of 19%. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has suggested she can beat DeSantis in the state and go head to head with Trump in later primaries, was at 16%.
Beyond Trump’s built-in advantages, a massive and ongoing effort on his behalf in Iowa reflects the campaign’s realization — especially compared to his seat-of-the-pants 2016 effort — that turning out many thousands of Iowans to caucus on a cold January night requires intense organizing.
State Republican Party officials who run the contests and strategists with the various campaigns suggest January’s caucuses will break the record of nearly 187,000 people in 2016.
Trump’s team says it has collected and processed tens of thousands of commitment cards, most of them coming from his 11 visits to Iowa in the past three months. Aides say the cards are entered into a database within three days before a campaign volunteer replies by phone.
Though Trump has visited far less often than DeSantis, Haley and others, he has drawn more than 20,000 to events since early September, thousands of whom say they are first-time caucus participants.
When asked if they were first-timers, hundreds of people raised their hands at Wednesday’s event in Coralville. The audience sat before a stage flanked by large video screens with a QR code and text code that guided them to the campaign’s digital portal.
Volunteers circulated around the Hyatt Regency hosting the event, identifiable with their white ball caps emblazoned in gold lettering with “Trump Caucus Captain.”
13 comments
Impeach Biden
December 16, 2023 at 4:14 pm
Hate to say it but I don’t think Trump can beat Biden. As incompetent as “Dementia Joe’s” administration has been, there are lots of folks that will vote for Dumb and Dumber again because they hate Trump that much. I would like to see Trump step aside and have Haley, or DeSantis take on incompetent Joe. Either one of them would defeat Joe. Unfortunately Trump’s ego will not allow him to step aside.
Dont Say FLA
December 16, 2023 at 4:28 pm
IBS and I agree? Wow. That seals it: Trump’s a loser. Zero question about it.
IMO Trump was only ever a protest vote against Hillary in the first place. His winning was both ridiculous and a tragedy for America.
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December 16, 2023 at 4:34 pm
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Impeach Biden
December 16, 2023 at 4:39 pm
Disagree. Trump did a great job as President. Inflation was low, we were energy independent. Unemployment was at historic lows. There were no wars in Ukraine or the Middle East. The Southern Border was not the mess we have now either. Is he an azz? Yes he is but he is our azz and he looked after the US, unlike the goofball reading the teleprompter now.
Dont Say FLA
December 16, 2023 at 5:47 pm
So, IBS, Trump’s a big winner, but he can’t win? Is that right? How is that different from being a loser?
I may or may not lack reading comprehension overall, but I definitely lack IBS comprehension! No comprendo, senor.
Rick Whitaker
December 16, 2023 at 5:53 pm
don’t say fla, impeach biden is a huge loser, so he likes losers. biden is a winner, so i like him. weird, huh almost all of what he said about trump being a good president is highly debatable, if not just an outright distortion of the truth.
Impeach Biden
December 16, 2023 at 6:06 pm
Poco Ingles Don’t say FL?
Marvin M.
December 16, 2023 at 5:07 pm
Hey! I agree with your last sentence! Who says people can’t find common ground?
Trump *might* go away if:
– people stop donating to his campaign;
– people stop attending his rallies;
– people in positions of power stop being afraid of him;
– people who are running against him for the office of president start acting like they are running against him instead of adjacent to him.
Until those things start to happen, I’m sorry, looks like you are stuck with Trump as the Republican nominee.
Dont Say FLA
December 16, 2023 at 5:54 pm
Trump also might forget he’s running for President, running four defenses, and/or croak.
Julia
December 16, 2023 at 4:33 pm
dailyincome74.blogspot.com
My Take
December 16, 2023 at 5:16 pm
Simply stunning that there are so many unAmericans or dolts.
America is in deep trouble with this debilitating national infection even if they lose.
Dont Say FLA
December 16, 2023 at 5:50 pm
True dat. With Trump running, we are damned if he wins, damned if he loses.
What I can’t understand is who would knowingly vote for anyone who puts the USA in the position of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t?”
…and they DO know at least one half of this equation, what with their threatening to cause and lose a second USA Civil War.
Sonja Fitch
December 17, 2023 at 4:58 am
Iowa you folks are not fooled by Trump the lying charlatan! Iowa is the bedrock of conservative Americans! Trump is a fascist! Trump worships at the feets of Nazi and Putin! Show him, Trump, that Iowa is not gullible! Put this Trump unamerican on the road !
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