Former President Donald Trump recently announced that he would be holding a rally in Iowa on Saturday, which is one of the first competitive spaces since last year’s election. There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Trump will run for the White House in 2024, but he had made it clear that the Iowa Rally is “critical” to take back the House, Senate, and White House. Republicans need to win one more seat in the Senate and five more in the House to win back the majority. While Trump has not shared any of his personal plans to run, some believe he is going to be heavily involved in the 2022 midterm elections.
“This is about the president understanding that Iowa could be the pathway to a majority in the federal House…I really think you’re going to hear him say a lot about 2022,” said Iowa GOP Jeff Kaufmann.
Kaufmann, along with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley will speak at the upcoming rally being held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Some believe that Trump will also endorse several GOP politicians at the rally, especially since he has prioritized midterms at the top of his agenda. Others said that his visit to the state will make it an “uphill battle” for any other potential 2024 GOP candidates.
Others asked if there are any “2024 implications” to Trump visiting Iowa since he currently has his highest poll numbers ever in the key battleground state. Kaufmann answered that the two are linked because they are “in Iowa” but that his reception there will be a big lead if he decides to run. Trump has only hinted that he “can’t reveal” anything yet but knows his answer. He said he believes people are going to be “very happy” with the decision and that they aren’t going to have a choice.
Trump has two political advisors in the state, Eric Branstad and Alex Latcham. The two were Trump’s Iowa political director during the 2016 general election campaign and a deputy political director in the Trump White House. Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of the top social conservative organization The Family Leader, revealed that if Trump had the intention to run, then “there are no two better people to hire than those two.” He said the hiring of those two was “definitely a message” that Trump wants to get organized and maybe laying down the foundations of a 2024 campaign.
The latest poll numbers for Trump in Iowa show 53% having a favorable view of him, which is a big jump from his 2016 victory. He became the first Republican to win the state since George W. Bush in 2004 and has maintained a strong presence in the state ever since. His popularity has even increased since leaving the White House.
“From March it was 45/53 — so a majority of independents saying they had an unfavorable opinion of former President Trump. In this poll, it was 48/49. So he’s evened out the edge that was there as a problem with independent voters in Iowa,” pollster J. Ann Selzer said.
Biden’s numbers, on the other hand, are terrible in the state and are a reminder that Trump still holds down some of the key battleground states outside of the office. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows even shared that the former president and his allies are ready to move forward in a “real way,” including President Trump at the head of that ticket.
While remaining a bit vague, there is a lot of indication that Trump is going to run for office in 2024 – and the Iowa rally will play a large role in that announcement.
