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Presidential candidates wrap up state fair political events [1]

['Robin Opsahl', 'More From Author', '- August']

Date: 2023-08-20  

Presidential hopefuls Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Libertarian Chase Oliver held the final political stops at the Iowa State Fair Saturday, finishing out the parade of 2024 candidates who came to campaign in the first-in-the-nation state.

As of Friday, more than 800,000 people had walked through the state fair gates. Among attendees have been 14 presidential candidates and more than 700 credentialed media. In their time at the fair, candidates competed for the spotlight, both in talks with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for her “fair-side chat” series and during their time talking with Iowans and touring the fairgrounds.

The busiest day of the state fair saw former President Donald Trump visit with a crew of Florida surrogates. His trip overlapped with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ time at the fair as a plane with a banner stating “Be likeable, Ron!” flew overhead. That same day, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy rapped along to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and Democratic challengers to President Joe Biden, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson also spoke to Iowans.

Trump — and his indictment in Georgia — were a topic of much discussion from 2024 GOP candidates during their talks with Iowans at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. Former Vice President Mike Pence defended his decision to certify the 2020 election results when a person accused him of committing treason for his actions Jan. 6, 2021. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd said Friday that Trump lost the election “period, full-stop” and called for the Republican Party to move on.

The former president is far ahead of his competitors in national polls, earning 53.7% of supporters in the GOP field, according to FiveThirtyEight Saturday, trailed by DeSantis at 14.8% and Ramaswamy at 8.4%.

But there’s still months to go until the Iowa Republican caucuses Jan. 15, 2024. Some candidates were hoping to gain traction: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder asked for fairgoers for donations and support to qualify for the Aug. 23 debate stage in Milwaukee in hopes of raising their national profile.

Saturday was the final day 2024 candidates were scheduled to hold events at the state fairgrounds.

This story was published earlier by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/08/20/presidential-candidates-wrap-up-state-fair-political-events/

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