Gov. Ron DeSantis needs to spend more time in the “Florida of the North” rather than the “Iowa of the South.”
That’s one takeaway from a Des Moines Register piece, in which Hawkeye State Republicans reveal they aren’t getting enough face time with “America’s Governor,” and that 10 events so far in the state simply aren’t enough for voters to get to know him.
“If you come in and you do a small gathering with a certain group and then maybe do a speech at a larger event that night, that’s not a blitz, folks. That’s a day in Iowa. It’s a quick business trip,” Iowa Republican operative Jimmy Centers told the Register.
Centers says the First Couple should be “spending the night at a hotel or motel, you know, and string together two or three days for three to four events a day.”
Another strategist says the Governor needs to be talking about pocketbook issues.
“The goal is to get out in Iowa and not just talk to them, but talk with them about what’s on their mind,” said strategist Alice Stewart. “And I know it’s farm prices, food prices and education in the state of Iowa, and he’s smart to focus on those issues.”
DeSantis’ visits to Iowa have sometimes earned scrutiny the campaign couldn’t have expected, such as the recent deconstruction of his “inauthentic” trip to Dairy Queen on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Polling shows DeSantis’ strategy isn’t winning over a plurality of Iowa Republicans just yet.
A July survey conducted by National Research Inc. and reported by American Greatness reveals Donald Trump leads DeSantis, 44% to 21%.
In another recent National Public Affairs poll, Trump is up 41% to 18%.
The Race to the White House average for the state also shows Trump leading DeSantis, 45% to 22%.
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