The John Fredericks Radio Network, in partnership with The Job Creators Network, is barnstorming Iowa with live rolling radio January 30-February 4.
For six days, starting at the Trump MAGA rally in Des Moines on January 30 and culminating with our Iowa Straw poll election wrap on February 4, John Fredericks and his live radio network team of Elaine Parker and Curtis Ellis will travel through Iowa as we follow the action leading up the first in the nation Democratic Iowa caucuses.
We will be talking with Iowa Democratic voters and as well as Presidential candidates and their surrogates.
Trump Nation Storms Iowa
Trump Campaign Targets Iowa to Show Strength, Boost GOP Caucus Turnout
The Wall Street Journal January 27, 2020
Around 80 surrogates for the president are expected to appear at different sites in Iowa ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses
With the leadoff Iowa caucuses days away, President Trump’s re-election campaign wants to remind voters that Democrats aren’t the only game in town.
For the Feb. 3 caucuses, the Trump campaign is planning an ambitious show of force around the state, with over 80 surrogates expected to appear at different sites. The push will be led by campaign manager Brad Parscale, the president’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as Eric Trump’s wife Lara Trump, who works for the campaign and Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, also a campaign adviser.
The group heading to Iowa includes White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and a number of cabinet members, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Also attending are members of Congress, among them House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), Rep. Elise Stefanik, (R., N.Y.) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.), as well as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and governors from surrounding states.
Four years ago, President Trump placed second in the Iowa caucuses. But this time around he has no strong challenger and Republican turnout is expected to be light. Still, the campaign sees the night as an opportunity to test its organizational muscle across the state’s 99 counties and put on a show of strength in a key general election state.
“Our Caucus Day operation is just a preview of what is to come,” said Mr. Parscale, in a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal. “This will be the strongest, best funded, and most organized presidential campaign in history.”
The president is also heading to Des Moines on Thursday for a rally in advance of the caucuses, and Vice President Mike Pence is planning a bus tour through the state that day. The campaign has held caucus training sessions and Lara Trump recently issued a video detailing how to participate.
“By attending your caucus you can show your support for the president and send a clear message to the rest of the country,” she said.
Mr. Trump has made clear he plans to leave nothing to chance in Iowa, a state he captured by nearly 10 percentage points in 2016 over Hillary Clinton but that Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012. He has stayed close to Iowa Republicans, repeatedly visiting the state throughout his presidency.
Some states have opted not to hold Republican primaries this year, but Iowa—ever mindful of its first-in-the-nation status—has kept the GOP contest going.
“When you’re a first in the nation state, you can’t take off an election cycle,” said Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. “We need to make sure both parties are out front and showing the country that we’re going to do things in a transparent way and an efficient way.”
On the evening of Feb. 3, Republicans and Democrats will gather in nearly 1,700 precinct locations to pick their choice to be the party nominee. The GOP process is more straightforward than the Democratic approach, with Republicans simply casting a vote. The caucus results ultimately determine the delegates that represent the state at the Republican convention in August.
Mr. Kaufmann stressed that the turnout among Republicans would likely be low, perhaps in the thousands, but said the night provided an on-the-ground organizing test.
Mr. Trump has followed the closely fought Democratic nomination fight, which kicks off in Iowa.
Speaking to Fox Business recently, he said of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders : “I don’t know, maybe he’s really surging. He really is,” while adding that Massachusetts Sen. “Elizabeth Warren seems to be going in the other way.”
Of former Vice President Joe Biden, Mr. Trump said he “doesn’t seem to be doing too well.”
Although the president’s impeachment trial will continue unfolding in Washington this week, the push in Iowa also comes as he has been or will be central to several other notable events.
He is holding a rally in New Jersey this week, as well as a high profile meeting with Israeli leaders. He recently attended the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and on Friday became the first president to personally address the March for Life in Washington.