The dynamic reflects both the state GOP’s pro-Trump lean but also the lurking liabilities for him.Ī majority of Iowa Republicans - 57% - said they hope Trump decides to run again for president in 2024, according to a July Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. Reynolds, heavily favored to win reelection in November, is backed by Trump and is a devoted supporter of the former president. Hogan more anonymously chowed down on a grilled pork chops - a rite of passage for any White House aspirant - as he meandered through the fair with Reynolds, his fellow governor.ĭespite the smiles and laughter they shared, the pair painted an awkward political picture. In 2007, Republican Fred Thompson was mocked for sporting Gucci loafers, which stood out among the more common flip-flops and cowboy boots of attendees. In 2003, Democrat John Kerry memorably ordered a strawberry smoothie, notable for an event known for its celebration of meat and deep-fried foods. Politicians’ food choices and attire at the Iowa State Fair are almost as important as the visits themselves. Undeterred, Pence waded through the damp crowds of fairgoers and even got in a few bites of one of the fair’s signature hand-held caloric monstrosities.Īs hail pummeled the roof, Pence sampled a “picnic in a cup” - pulled pork, coleslaw, baked beans and Fritos, topped with barbecue sauce and bacon. Pence later got caught in a fast-developing thunderstorm, which soaked him and his entourage as they sought shelter under the Iowa Pork Producers tent. “Iowa and America need six more years of Chuck Grassley.” “It’s an honor to be here at the Iowa State Fair with you,” he told Grassley, with the politicians surrounded by dozens of news reporters and photographers in the shadow of the century-old brick grandstand.
The former vice president was careful, however, to keep his political remarks focused on the November midterm election, when Grassley is on the ballot, and not on the 2024 presidential race. Chuck Grassley, as have countless White House prospects over the years. Larry Hogan, a prominent Trump critic, was there last week.Ī cowboy-boot-wearing Pence was escorted by seven-term Republican Sen. Mike Pence, Trump’s estranged former vice president, visited the fair Friday, and Maryland Gov. That means the few who entered the gates on Des Moines’ working-class east side were doing so with little such concern. If you’re too overeager, people might say, ‘Whoa, President Trump is still the guy.’” “The fair is more in-your-face campaigning. Kim Reynolds and now a Des Moines-area GOP state representative. But they know there needs to be that emphasis that they are here for Iowa Republican candidates,” said Michael Bousselot, a former top aide to Republican Gov. “There’s a bit of a Trump effect going on. Several would-be GOP candidates have quietly made political inroads in the first-in-the-nation nominating state, but they’ve done so by campaigning with Iowa candidates, not by being so obvious as to stand on straw bales at a perennial stop for White House hopefuls. It speaks to the careful dance that potential presidential candidates are attempting as Democrats remain uncertain about President Joe Biden’s political future and many Republicans avoid taking on former President Donald Trump. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, who snaked his way past tables under the Iowa Pork Producers tent at the annual Midwestern tribute to overindulgence.īut as the 2022 fair entered its final weekend, the 2024 traffic was noticeably light. Four years later, almost as many Democrats made the pilgrimage to the fair, including former U.S.
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