Political fanatic adds to his signed baseball collection during the 2024 election cycle

Thirty-nine signed baseballs. That’s how many Marc Korver of Washington, Iowa, has in his collection to date. And they all follow a theme: Each has been signed by a presidential candidate.

One has the scrawl of President Joe Biden. Scribbles on another belong to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. A cursive signature reads Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

It marks one of the most expansive and unusual political collections in Iowa. And the 39-year-old casino security guard has no intentions to stop adding to it.

“I'm not planning on selling this unless I pass away,” Korver said. “It’s an interesting way for me to remember politics, get involved and meet the candidate.”

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The collection is bipartisan. Korver doesn’t consider himself a Republican or a Democrat, he said. He only identifies as an American. He has wielded his American right to vote during every general elections he can — and, recently, has made a statement doing so.

He wears an American flag suit to the political events he attends. Donning the stars and stripes is both for fun and in hopes it brightens candidates’ days.

“I’ve never had a candidate tell me they didn't like it,” Korver said. “I always think that's a plus.”

He only caucused for the first time in 2016. He ended up voting for former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who came in 11th in the Republican caucuses. In 2020, he wanted to experience how the Democrats ran their presidential races. He saw more than 20 candidates as they passed through Iowa. He ended up caucusing for Warren, who cane in third, and then voting for the Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen in the presidential election.

This election cycle, Korver has seen nearly every Republican candidate who has visited Iowa. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his presidential bid Wednesday, is an exception since he didn’t visit Iowa during his campaign.

Korver is also missing the signature of former President Donald Trump, as baseballs generally are not allowed into his campaign events, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris.

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This cycle, Korver has attended the most events for Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — who he planned to caucus for Monday. He first saw Ramaswamy at an Osceola event and fell in love with him as a contender.

“He's a very inspiring dude,” Korver said. “He made me love my country more. And if a guy can do that for a guy that wears a flag suit, I think he'd be a decent guy for the White House.”

It’s important to him how presidential candidates treat attendees at their events. He liked how Ramaswamy gave the audience time to speak to him, ask questions and air concerns.

In contrast, he didn’t appreciate GOP candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s recent comments at a New Hampshire campaign event, where she told the crowd its primary voters had the opportunity to "correct" the results of the Iowa caucuses.

Iowa GOP leaders criticized the candidate for the remark — and so did Korver.

“This isn't a joke to me. The flag suit is worn for fun, but it's how I decide who I want to caucus for and ultimately vote for in the general election,” he said. “If Vivek had dropped out, my vote was not going to her.”

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Since The Gazette last interviewed Korver in 2019, he has grown to care more about health care. A health issue forced him into an emergency room, and he walked out with a bill just under $3,000 — even with the help of insurance. That will be a factor toward his political decisions.

He’ll continue to practice his right to vote for as long as he can, always thinking of what his high school government teacher told him: “If you don’t vote, you don’t have a valid reason to complain.” And there’s no plan on stopping his expansive collection, either.

“As long as I’ve got two legs, good health, a working car and baseball’s still around, I'll go see candidates,” Korver said.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com