Trump, other GOP presidential candidates to attend Cy-Hawk game. What to know.

At least four candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination, including former President Donald Trump, will join tens of thousands of college football fans Saturday in Ames.

Iowa State hosts Iowa in a sold out Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series showdown at Jack Trice Stadium.

The current list of GOP candidates slated to either participate in tailgate events or attend the game include: Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know.

Cy-Hawk football game primer

Who: Iowa State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Where: MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium — Ames, Iowa

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: Sold out

Parking: 2023 Jack Trice Stadium football parking map

How to watch

TV: FOX

Livestream: Fox Sports Live

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network | Hawkeye Radio Network

Tickets

A sellout crowd of 61,500 is expected for the annual Cy-Hawk football game.

Iowa State University Athletic Director Jamie Pollard apologized for ticketing system delays that caused long waits for people to get inside Jack Trice Stadium for last week’s season opener against the University of Northern Iowa that caused some people to miss kickoff. Pollard cited a new ticket scanning system the athletic department introduced this year for the long delays.

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Iowa vs. Iowa State at a glance: How to watch, storylines

All fans are required to enter Jack Trice Stadium using a mobile ticket. Mobile tickets can be accessed via the free ISU Cyclones App or online using Account Manager.

For more information about mobile ticketing, go to https://bit.ly/45DXLrM.

Security

There will be significantly heightened law enforcement presence at and around the stadium because of Trump’s visit, Iowa State University Police Chief Michael Newton said.

Newton said there will be special security screening in certain areas where candidates will be.

“Anytime you bring a former president and other dignitaries into a venue, you have to enhance your security measures,” he said. “There just is no option.”

He said the department has worked with other law enforcement agencies on a plan that they hope will minimize disruption, but he said fans should still expect some differences from the normal game day. Trump is set to arrive around kickoff, scheduled for 2:30 p.m., according to an advisory from his campaign.

“We’ve brought enough assets and resources on the law enforcement side to make sure we can protect the VIPs and also our fans,” Newton said. He would not provide numbers due to security concerns.

Newton anticipated roughly 100,000 showing up in Ames to either attend or watch the game, tailgate, or to meet or grab a glimpse of Trump and the other candidates.

None of the candidate appearances are sponsored by the university.

In anticipation of heightened political tension with the presence of Trump, DeSantis and other political candidates, university officials are encouraging students, ticket holders, tailgaters and spectators to be respectful of one another.

“Obviously, this game day we’re going to have a lot of people of varying political opinions, and, you know, civil discourse is always important,” Newton said.

Traffic

Newton and Iowa State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Alex Dinkla said there will be some short-term road closures around the stadium around the time Trump arrives closer to kickoff as a safety precaution. But most roads will remain open.

“Now, there will be points where we have to stop traffic (temporarily) for motorcades and will need to pause people from moving in certain locations,” Newton said. “But, what we all tried to do was try to minimize those disruptions.”

By that time, a majority of fans should already be in the stadium or parking lots enjoying their tailgate before law enforcement needs to close off some of the roads, he said.

Both he and Dinkla advised those headed to the game or traveling to Ames Saturday to be patient, arrive early, plan ahead and be prepared for traffic delays.

Tailgating lots open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Newton advises people to head into the game and arrive at the gates between an hour to 45 minutes before kickoff.

“The earlier we get cars parked, the less disruption on the traffic end that people will have,” he said.

Dinkla said dozens of Iowa State troopers will be outside the stadium working to keep traffic moving safely throughout the area.

“We will also be watching from our airplane that will be up to make sure that we don’t have any traffic delays,” he said. “And, in the event that we do, we can make sure that we mitigate those and get those fixed as soon as possible to make sure traffic continues to flow.”

He said there should be “little to no impact on the traffic” from candidates’ arrival and departure.

Dinkla also urged fans to “err on the side of caution” and find a sober driver to get home safely, and to buckle up.

Which candidates will be there and why?

The current list of GOP candidates slated to either participate in tailgate events or attend the game include: Trump, DeSantis, Hutchinson and Ramaswamy.

Before the Cy-Hawk game, Hutchinson and Ramaswamy plan to attend an Iowa Fourth Congressional District GOP Presidential Rally tailgate at the Story County Fairgrounds in Nevada.

Ramaswamy also plans to attend a tailgate by Summit Agricultural Group, the agribusiness and renewable energy firm founded by Bruce Rastetter, a major Republican donor and backer of Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Summit Carbon Solutions, a spinoff of Rastetter’s Summit Agricultural Group, seeks to build a 700-mile pipeline in Iowa that would be used to capture carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol plants and transport it underground sequestration sites in North Dakota.

DeSantis plans to attend a tailgate event hosted by Never Back Down, the super PAC backing his presidential campaign, as a special guest.

Trump handily leads his Republican opponents for the presidential nomination in both national and Iowa polling. He visited a Republican tailgate for the game during his campaign in 2015, when it was also held in Ames. Then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul also attended the event at that time.

Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses will kick off the party's presidential nominating contest in January and will be the first test of candidates' electoral strength.

Somewhat similar to the Iowa State Fair, which is a magnet for candidates to get national and statewide media attention and gain traction ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Saturday’s game is an opportunity for candidates to gin up publicity, introduce themselves to a wide swath of Iowa voters and field test their messaging to see what resonates with Iowans, said Steffen Schmidt, a professor of political science at Iowa State University.

Unlike the fair, however, candidates are unlikely to give speeches or talk policy, but will likely give interviews to national and Iowa media.

"It’s a great way to keep your visibility going in Iowa, and that’s the one thing you want to do,“ Schmidt.

Especially for Trump, who hasn’t spent much time campaigning in the state compared to others in the Republican primary field, Schmidt said.

Trump returns to Iowa after briefly sweeping through the State Fair last month, in his first stop in the state since being indicted for a fourth time and skipping the Republican Party's first presidential debate.

“So coming to the game just reassures Iowa Republicans and others who want to support him in the caucuses, and maybe later when he gets nominated,” that he’s a fan of the state, Schmidt said. “It’s a visual support of Iowa and the Iowa caucuses.”

Schmidt anticipates Trump’s private jet will fly low over the stadium on the way to the airport, just as he did over the State Fairgrounds, literally casting a shadow over other GOP presidential candidates attending the fair below.

“He is a showman,” Schmidt said of Trump. “And so what an opportunity to do that, and not just for the people that are in the stadium, but for the national media.”

DeSantis remains Trump’s closest rival in polls, and is digging into Iowa — where he’s pledged to visit all of the state’s 99 counties. He’s visited 53 thus far, according to his campaign.

Biden-Harris, Iowa Democrats respond

Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign rolled out a 60-second ad Friday in Iowa and South Dakota hitting Trump, DeSantis and fellow Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott for their stances on abortion, underscoring Democrats’ intention of using the pivotal issue in next year’s campaign.

Watch on YouTube

The ad highlights Trump’s role in paving the way for a national abortion ban and taking credit for the appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices who were instrumental in overturning the federal right to an abortion and sending the issue back to states.

The spot is also running in Florida, where DeSantis signed a six-week ban into law.

Per the Biden-Harris campaign, the ad is part of a 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign. Alongside Florida, Iowa and South Dakota, the ad ran on digital in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart issued a statement ahead of Trump’s and the other candidates’ visits to Iowa over the weekend.

“Since the first Republican debate, the MAGA field of contenders has only doubled down on their extremism and pulled themselves further away from the majority of Americans on issues like Social Security and Medicare, climate change, and defending a woman’s right to choose,” Hart said. “Every time they roll through Iowa, these extreme 2024 candidates demonstrate that this GOP primary is a race to the bottom. Iowans deserve leaders like President Biden and Vice President Harris who are fighting for working families — and will reject MAGA extremists only looking out for the ultrawealthy and themselves.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com