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Campaign Almanac: Trump still strong in Iowa, Haley now tied with DeSantis for second
Also, super PAC supporting Trump launches attack ads against DeSantis in Iowa
Former President Donald Trump still holds a commanding 27 percentage point lead among likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers. But, support for former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has swelled in what has become a heated battle for second place in the leadoff caucus state.
A new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Haley pulling even with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump among likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers.
The poll of 404 registered voters in Iowa who say they plan to participate in the Jan. 15 Republican caucuses, and conducted Oct. 22-26, found 43 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers choose Trump as their first choice for president, up slightly from August, despite Trump’s mounting legal challenges.
The former president faces 91 felony counts in four criminal cases in Washington, New York, Florida and Georgia and could potentially be looking at years in prison if convicted.
DeSantis and Haley are now tied for second place, with 16 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers selecting them as their first choice for president. That makes for a 10-point jump for Haley since August and a 3-point slide for DeSantis.
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott stood at 7 percent, down from 9 percent in the August Iowa Poll. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stood at 4 percent, down from 5 percent; Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy held steady at 4 percent; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum rose from 2 to 3 percent; and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson rose from 0 to 1 percent.
Haley’s surge has been fueled by swelling support among Iowa independent voters, according to the Iowa Poll. The former South Carolina governor doubled her support with independents, which helped propel her into a second-place tie.
Trump, too, picked up support, leading DeSantis with independents 33 percent to 12 percent. In August, Trump and DeSantis were nearly evenly split among independent caucusgoers, who made up 21 percent of the poll’s respondents.
Despite lagging Trump by 27 points as the first pick among Iowa Republicans, DeSantis matches Trump in the combination of those who say they’re actively considering supporting him in the Iowa caucuses. Both are at 67 percent according to the Iowa Poll.
MAGA super PAC targets DeSantis in Iowa attack ads
A super PAC supporting Trump’s third bid for the White House began airing attack ads in Iowa over the weekend against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a primary rival for the Republican presidential nomination.
First reported by The New York Times, the ad by Make America Great Again Inc., aims to paint DeSantis as insufficiently conservative less than three months out from the first-in-the-nation Iowa Republican caucuses by accusing him of supporting statehood for Puerto Rico, based on a 2018 bill DeSantis co-sponsored in Congress. The bill created a task force to codify the process for applying for statehood, but it did not grant Puerto Rico statehood. Meanwhile, Trump took a similar stance as DeSantis in 2016.
DeSantis’ campaign pointed to a statement Trump made as a then-candidate in his first run for the White House, in which he also supported a process for Puerto Rican statehood.
While an issue that resonates in Florida, which has a large Puerto Rican population, many Republicans oppose statehood, suggesting it would help Democrats electorally.
DeSantis’ campaign, citing the New York Times’ reporting, heralded the apparent shift in strategy by the super PAC, which abandoned negative ads slamming DeSantis at the start of the summer as part of a pivot to a general election posture and a focus on using paid media to attack President Joe Biden, sending a message that Team Trump saw DeSantis as a fading threat.
According to a Monday filing with the Federal Election Commission, Make America Great Again, Inc. spent about $958,000 on Iowa TV ads, including production costs, placed over the weekend. More than 95 percent of the ad buy and production costs ($917,865) went to opposing DeSantis. Only about $37,000 went to supporting Trump and $3,000 to opposing Biden.
"After months of pounding their chest that they already had the race won, Team Trump is now being forced to publicly admit that Ron DeSantis is climbing in Iowa and is a dire threat to their chances of securing the nomination,“ Andrew Romeo, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, said in an emailed statement to The Gazette.
“At a time when Israelis and Americans are still held hostage by Hamas, while millions of Americans are suffering under high inflation, and when our southern border continues to be invaded, Team Trump inexplicably has decided to levy false and hypocritical attacks on Ron DeSantis … about Puerto Rico,” Romeo said.
Ben Carson, faith leaders endorse Trump for president
Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday, along with dozens of Iowa faith leaders.
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who ran for president in 2016 and was tapped by Trump to lead the federal housing agency, introduced the 2024 presidential candidate to the stage in a Sioux City rally on Sunday.
“We can fix our country, and we can make America great again,” Carson said at the rally. “And President Donald J. Trump is the person to do that.”
Trump’s campaign also released a list of more than 100 faith leaders backing his candidacy, including some current and former Iowa legislators.
Dick Green, a minister with John G. Lake Ministries from Linn County, said in a news release that Trump “has proven he’s able to do what he says, so why would I try anyone else?”
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