Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) will be visiting Iowa in the coming weeks, a move that points to each ramping up their respective Presidential bids.
DeSantis will be visiting the state on March 10, when he’ll make stops at the eastern Iowa city of Davenport and Des Moines, the state’s Capital city.
DeSantis will travel to the state to promote his new book, “The Courage to be Free.”
Two aides of Republican officials have confirmed DeSantis’s travel plans to Newsmax but spoke on the condition of anonymity on Thursday since they weren’t authorized to share the Governor’s travel plans.
On Thursday (March 2), former President Donald Trump’s campaign manager revealed Trump would visit the state on March 13, where he’ll stop in Davenport to make an education policy speech. The trip will be the first visit Trump has made to Iowa since he launched his campaign in November.
Gloria Mazza, the Republican party chair in Polk County, Iowa’s most populous county, explained that having two of the GOP’s most influential leaders coming to the state is “going from ground zero right to the moon,” adding, “It sure gets us excited.”
Although DeSantis is yet to announce a 2024 bid, the visit to Iowa is a significant step for the Florida Republican as he positions himself as an alternative to Trump.
The timing — with DeSantis and Trump’s visits days apart — will likely also bring the two into direct competition and could cause Trump to elevate his already escalating attacks on DeSantis.
