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Donald Trump’s visit to Iowa on Saturday for a marquee college football matchup marked just the sixth time the former president has visited the state since entering the Republican nomination race roughly 10 months ago.
He remains the overwhelming favorite in the state with double-digit leads in polls, though his absence flies in the face of the old political maxim that candidates must press the flesh to win the Republican Party’s kickoff nominating contest.
His rivals have tried to fill the void, but Mr. Trump was the biggest political draw at the game between Iowa State University and the University of Iowa in Ames. He took in the annual grudge match from a private stadium suite with Iowa casino powerhouse Gary Kirke, an influential Republican donor, after stopping by a fraternity house.
Mr. Trump shared the spotlight with his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and biotechnology millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
All four have logged far more time in Iowa than Mr. Trump, though only Mr. DeSantis has managed to climb above single digits in polls.
SEE ALSO: Trump, DeSantis and other presidential candidates descend on Iowa rivalry game
Mr. Ramaswamy, a political newcomer, has held more than 60 events over 34 days in Iowa, according to a running tally from the Des Moines Register. Mr. Hutchinson has been in the state more than two dozen times, and Mr. Burgum has attended more than 20 events since entering the race in early June.
After some early stumbles, Mr. DeSantis intensified his focus on Iowa this summer. He made an appearance at the football game Saturday with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds, an Iowa State alum, is beloved by Republicans.
Mr. DeSantis has been in Iowa for 17 days, held more than 60 campaign stops and visited 53 of the state’s 99 counties. The DeSantis team was eager to share another nugget of information: Mr. Trump was on the ground in Iowa for a grand total of 45 minutes last month.
“Donald Trump left the door wide open in the Hawkeye State, and Ron DeSantis has taken advantage of that opportunity,” said DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo. “The more Iowans see Ron DeSantis in person, the more his message to reverse our nation’s decline will continue to resonate.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said that idea is wishful thinking.
“President Trump has a dominant lead in every single Iowa poll that has been released — including a recent one from a DeSantis-aligned pollster that shows President Trump’s lead INCREASING,” Mr. Cheung said in an email to The Washington Times.
The latest Des Moines Register poll, released after the Iowa State Fair last month, showed Mr. Trump with a 42% to 19% lead over Mr. DeSantis, a distant second in most surveys. A silver lining for the rest of the field: One-third of Mr. Trump’s supporters said they could be persuaded to change their minds.
The poll numbers offer a reminder of Mr. Trump’s iron grip on a big slice of the Republican Party electorate and add to doubts over whether his rivals are chasing their tails.
Dennis J. Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University, said Mr. Trump has the advantage of being a known commodity in Iowa.
“He pops in occasionally to remind his supporters that he loves them, but otherwise … has not spent as much time here as most of the other Republican candidates,” Mr. Goldford said. “At the same time, what has all that attention from the latter gained them in polls up to now? Not much, apparently.
“Still, we’re four months out, with a lot going on, so don’t rush to judgment,” he said.
The ample campaign time remaining, the more than 90 felony charges against Mr. Trump and doubts about the accuracy of polls give his rivals hope.
They have jumped at the chance to glad-hand voters, kiss babies and hobnob with activists at backyard barbecues and meetups at Pizza Ranch restaurants, which have become Iowa campaign staples.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently warned that the Trump brand of populism is putting the party on the “road to ruin,” is set to return to Iowa on Monday, marking his 20th day in the state. Mr. Pence has held 75 Iowa events, according to his campaign.
Former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley will be in the state looking to build off the momentum she carried out of the first debate, where she said Mr. Trump is “the most disliked politician in all of America.”
The Haley campaign has penciled in a half-dozen stops, bringing her Iowa event tally to more than 40.
Meanwhile, Trump allies have signaled their concerns that he has been slow to build out its Iowa operation while his rivals fill the void. Mr. DeSantis has had 12,000 Iowans commit to caucus for him, roughly a third of what was needed to win other presidential contests in the state.
Going all-in on Iowa has paid off for long-shot Republican contenders.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won the Iowa caucuses after visiting all 99 counties on their way to winning the contest in 2012 and 2016, respectively.
Mr. Santorum and Mr. Cruz appealed to Iowa’s expansive pool of Christian conservatives but ultimately lost the party’s nomination.
Perhaps that helps explain why former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has written off Iowa and put all his efforts into New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.
The Christie campaign made it clear months ago that his Iowa operation is nonexistent.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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