If not Trump, ‘Never Hillary’ will unite Iowa GOP, chairman predicts

HIAWATHA - Forget all the noise about which GOP elected officials might or might not endorse Donald Trump.

'Here's what matters to me: Who are you going to vote for in the fall?” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said at a GOP #UnitedIowa rally in Hiawatha. Regardless of who has said they will endorse the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, 'I will guarantee you the party is behind him 100 percent.”

'Whether I say I'm for Donald Trump or not pales in comparison to whether these 40 people are for him,” Kaufmann said to the cheers of a roomful of Republican stalwarts.

Kaufmann is making a tour of the state to promote party unity ahead of the RPI convention May 21.

'Obviously, there is some getting used to” Trump as the GOP nominee, he continued. 'People have to get used to the person that they put their passion and all of their energy toward is not going to be the nominee.”

He called it healthy that Republicans have had a 'difficult” primary and 'that some people were caught off-guard by Donald Trump being our nominee (because) that means we listened to the people,” Kaufmann said. 'We are going to unite around what the people want.”

Ultimately, Kaufmann said, Iowa Republicans will come to grips with the reality of the Trump nomination for two reasons: 'Never Hillary” and because when voters compare Trump to Clinton there will be no doubt he will nominate better candidates to the Supreme Court, there will be less overregulation of business and industry and less taxation under a President Trump, Kaufmann said.

'The specter of someone who is under serious federal investigation, a retread from the '90s is certainly going to be something to entice Republicans to remind us of what binds us together,” Kaufmann said.

There also will be key down-ballot races. Kaufmann predicted Linn County 'is seriously going to be the epicenter in Iowa” because of legislative races and the re-election of 1st District Rep. Rod Blum. The situation will be similar across Iowa with down-ballot races determine whether the GOP maintains control of the Iowa House and wins a Senate majority.

The party also will be united in sending Sen. Chuck Grassley back to Washington for a seventh term, Kaufmann added.

The RPI will have 'record-breaking” partnerships with the Republican National Committee and, in conjunction with the Trump campaign will mount 'the largest ground game in Iowa history for Republicans.” That includes unity, energy and a 'walletful” of funding, he said.