Campaign Almanac: Trump, Haley unveil new ads in sprint to caucuses

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign makes a move for the patriotic heartstrings in its latest ad.

The campaign ad, which is titled “A Christmas to Remember” and is airing in Iowa, features former Trump White House spokeswoman and current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders describing Trump’s unannounced visit in Christmas 2018 to see U.S. troops in Iraq.

“That room absolutely erupted,” Sanders says in a recording from a Trump campaign event featured in the new ad. “That was the kind of patriotism President Trump brought back to our country.”

Trump continues to hold a consistent and commanding lead over the Republican presidential primary candidates, both nationally in Iowa, ahead of the Jan. 15, first-in-the-nation Iowa Republican caucuses. He is just over 50 percent in the rolling polling averages at both Real Clear Politics and fivethirtyeight, with roughly 30-point leads over the rest of the field in both.

Haley highlights polls in new ad

Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s campaign has unveiled a new campaign ad that began airing recently in Iowa.

The new ad, titled “Strong and Proud,” features recent national polling that shows Haley faring better than other Republican primary candidates in a prospective general election against Democratic President Joe Biden. A recent Wall Street Journal poll showed Haley beating Biden by 17 percentage points.

The Haley campaign also is airing a new campaign ad in New Hampshire, which highlights the endorsement of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP race.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau