Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during Trump's President Day event at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 20, 2023. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump has announced his campaign leadership team in Iowa, the first state on the Republican Party’s caucus and primary calendar in 2024.
“With this incredible team of skilled professionals and their deep ties to Iowa, we will earn a dominant victory in the caucuses next year,” Trump said in a statement released by his campaign on Feb. 20. The former president made four appointments, with Marshall Moreau being named as state director.
Moreau previously managed the 2022 campaign of Iowa’s Republican attorney general candidate Brenna Bird, who defeated Democrat candidate Tom Miller, the longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history.
Iowa state Rep. Bobby Kaufman (R) and Eric Branstad were named as senior advisers.
Branstad, the son of former Iowa governor and U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, helped run Trump’s 2016 and 2020 races in Iowa. Bobby Kaufmann, who is currently serving his fifth term in the Iowa House of Representatives, is the son of Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann.
Terry Branstad, then-U.S. Ambassador to China, speaks to the media during a press conference at his residence in Beijing on June 28, 2017. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images
Alex Latcham, named by Trump to be his early states director, will oversee the campaign’s political operations in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, according to the statement. Latcham previously worked under the Trump administration as a deputy White House political director in the White House Political Office, the statement adds.
“As Democrats destroy decades of tradition, we must always protect Iowa’s First-in-the-Nation Caucuses,” Trump said.
“I’m the one who did it this time and you will always be first with me. It was my great honor to get $28 billion for our farmers, as China took advantage of them for years,” Trump continued. “And don’t forget the USMCA, replacement to the horrible NAFTA.”
Trade Deal
Trump signed the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) into law in January 2020, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
“This is a colossal victory for our farmers, ranchers, energy workers, factory workers, and American workers in all 50 states,” Trump said when he signed USMCA. “For the first time in American history, we have replaced a disastrous trade deal that rewarded outsourcing with a truly fair and reciprocal trade deal that will keep jobs, wealth, and growth right here in America.”
On Jan. 28, Trump announced his leadership team in South Carolina during a campaign stop. The team, headed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, included Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Russel Fry (R-S.C.), Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
On the same day, Trump announced that Stephen Stepanek, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, would be a senior adviser for his campaign in the Granite State, during a campaign stop in the state.
So far, Trump has not made a campaign appearance in Iowa. His last visit to the Granite State took place days before the November 2022 midterm elections, when he campaigned for Iowa Republicans, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in Sioux City.
Republicans
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, the second prominent Republican to seek the party’s presidential nomination in 2024, was in Iowa on Monday, when she spoke at Royal Flooring in Urbandale, which is located just outside of the state capital Des Moines.
Republican presidential prospect Mike Pence, who was vice president under Trump, was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Feb. 15, when he spoke at a Pizza Ranch about parents’ rights.
Another GOP presidential prospect, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), is scheduled to speak at an event at Drake University in Des Moines on Feb. 22. On the same day, he is also scheduled to make a stop at the Republican Party of Polk County’s annual Lincoln Dinner.
Trump is the favorite to win the GOP nomination, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, which was conducted for two days ending on Feb. 16 and surveyed 1,838 registered voters.
Trump led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 46 percent to 23 percent, while Mike Pence came up third with seven percent, followed by Haley with six percent. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo finished fifth with 3 percent of support.
The former president also edged out President Joe Biden in a potential 2024 match-up. According to the poll, 46 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump, compared to 41 percent who said they would vote for Biden. Thirteen percent said they were unsure or didn’t know whom they would support.
Frank Fang
journalist
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
