Trump Iowa Visit Tests Appetite for Another Presidential Bid
Former President
is taking his most affirmative step yet toward a possible 2024 campaign by returning to a crucial state on the nominating calendar for the first time since his presidency, even as Republicans there express mixed feelings about him running again.
Mr. Trump will host a rally Saturday evening in Iowa, the state that traditionally launches the nomination process. His event on the state fairgrounds in Des Moines is likely to stoke speculation about his previously stated interest in trying to win back the White House and follows his hiring of two operatives in the state to work for his political-action committee.
Iowa Republican activists express varied views when asked how much support Mr. Trump would likely receive in the state for a third White House campaign.
“My preference is that Donald Trump has a role in the direction of our country and party and some influence over candidates, but I think it would be best for someone else to become the standard-bearer,” said Mark Lundberg, a financial adviser and former Republican chairman in northwest Iowa’s Sioux County, one of the most conservative areas in the state.
In conservative Sioux County, Iowa, a former GOP chairman prefers ‘someone else to become the standard-bearer.’
Photo:
KC McGinnis for The Wall Street Journal
Rich Schwarm, a former Iowa state GOP chairman, said there is strong support among the Republican voters there for Mr. Trump’s policies. There are, however, mixed feelings about “whether he is the strongest messenger” for the party. “I think he would be the front-runner here if he were to run,” he said.
Two aides to Mr. Trump didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
There is no question Mr. Trump, 75 years old, remains the dominant figure in the GOP. His post-White House events have attracted big crowds, candidates in heavily Republican areas covet his endorsements and his fundraising since November has proven prodigious.
A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released earlier this week showed Mr. Trump now has higher favorability ratings in the key state than he did as president, with 53% of Iowans—including 91% of Republicans—viewing him positively. The state’s most respected political survey didn’t ask Republicans whether they would like to see him run again.
The findings of a national poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center released this week showed 44% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents want Mr. Trump to run for the White…
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