Trump’s dominance in GOP frustrates some in Iowa eager for a competitive campaign

DES MOINES, Iowa– The Iowa frenzy is usually already in full force.

With less than three weeks until the Iowa caucuses formally begin the presidential nominating process, White House hopefuls often find themselves in heated competition. They are spread across the state, cramming as many events into a single day as humanly possible, all in an attempt to woo undecided voters and secure support that could carry them to victory in Iowa and keep them in the race for months. come.

But as campaigning heats up ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses, the normal frenzy is toning down. As the agenda fills up, former President Donald Trump is such a dominant force in the party that some voters worry that the race that normally transforms Iowa into the center of the political world could turn out to be something of a snooze.

“It’s a little frustrating,” said Jenna Maifeld, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student who is eager to participate in her first caucus but is disappointed by the lack of competition in the campaign cycle. “I feel like a lot of people’s voices aren’t heard.”

There is still time for the dynamics of the race to change. And Trump’s rivals are hardly ceding the state to him, working to convince voters that his victory is not inevitable. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has effectively focused his campaign on Iowa, filling it with advertising and putting together a robust travel schedule with events and media availability. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is also campaigning across Iowa, stepping up criticism of Trump and laying the groundwork for a potentially stronger showing in New Hampshire, where the Jan. 23 primary includes more independent voters. .

The question is whether any of those efforts will noticeably erode Trump’s standing, a prospect some voters consider unlikely at this point.

“A lot of candidates are hoping that one of these spears in his back will finally take him down, but I doubt it,” said Nick Peters, a 31-year-old Prairie City man who is also among the Iowa Republicans frustrated by Trump’s decision. domain.

Trump enters the final stretch before the caucuses facing a series of challenges. He is the subject of 91 criminal charges related to everything from his handling of classified information to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s top elections official recently declared that Trump is ineligible to appear in the elections. ballots from their states, decisions that the former president will likely appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

And Trump is embroiled in controversy for his harsh rhetoric toward immigrants, repeatedly using language that extremism experts say echoes Adolf Hitler’s writings about the “purity” of Aryan blood, which underpinned the assassination. systematic killing of millions of Jews and other “undesirables” by Nazi Germany before. and during World War II.

For now, however, Trump’s baggage appears to be doing little to deter most Republican voters. In fact, Trump has tried to turn his vulnerabilities into something of an advantage, arguing that he has been impeached on behalf of his supporters. He also aims to overturn concerns that he poses a threat to democracy by accusing President Joe Biden of harnessing government power against a political rival. There is no evidence that Biden or the White House had any influence on the Justice Department’s decision to criminally charge Trump.

It is Trump’s impenetrable base of support that has made many resigned to seeing his name on the November ballot.

“If democracy works fairly and if the country wants him, then it will be him,” said Dylan Kooiman, a 21-year-old student at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, who said he would find it difficult to support Trump given his legal battles. “It doesn’t always go the way everyone wants.”

Iowans are historically proud of the role they play at the start of the presidential election calendar every four years. Voters are accustomed to intimate exchanges with candidates, who visit living rooms, neighborhood centers and county fairgrounds in an effort to connect and persuade.

The pride Iowans feel in their role in shaping the presidential race is also accompanied by a perennial anxiety that their status won’t last forever. The final run-up to the 2020 caucuses, which focused on Democrats, was unusually quiet because many candidates, who were also senators, had to be in Washington to participate in Trump’s first impeachment trial. A failed attempt to report the results contributed to Democrats knocking Iowa out of its top spot and replacing it with South Carolina.

Republicans have kept Iowa in the starting position for the 2024 campaign. But like so many traditions, Trump has abandoned some long-held political practices in Iowa, particularly when it comes to retail campaigns. He has largely traded living rooms for rallies, prompting some criticism that he takes Iowa for granted.

Trump is stepping up his efforts in recent weeks to show that he is willing to work toward a victory so resounding that his rivals will have to give up. For example, he is taking the rare step of holding four campaign events over two days in early January, appearing in rural western Iowa, in the industrial zone of eastern Iowa along the Mississippi River and making stops in the middle.

If he succeeds, he may be on the path to a career that few Americans seem willing to embrace. Nearly 3 in 10 American adults, or 28%, say they would be dissatisfied with Trump and Biden becoming their parties’ respective candidates, a recent AP-NORC poll showed.

Independents (43%) are more likely than Democrats (28%) or Republicans (20%) to express displeasure with both men securing partisan nominations.

Rick Hyndman may be one of the thousands of Iowans who wants to support Trump again, but he also thinks Trump needs to talk to the media more.

In line to attend a Trump rally in Coralville, the 70-year-old local retiree was noncommittal, hoping to hear some signs from the former president that he could appeal to independents to ensure his eligibility in the general election. Hyndman believes he could do it if he focused on the problems and avoided putting others down.

Despite that concern, Hyndman believes neither DeSantis nor Haley can beat him.

“I don’t see anyone stepping forward,” he said. “We have been waiting”.