The Florida governor and presidential contender showed dexterity, rerouting for a last-minute meet-and-greet not far from the site of Donald Trump’s canceled rally.
Ron DeSantis spent half an hour shaking hands at a classic car museum in Sioux Center during a hamburger picnic. | Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo
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05/14/2023 01:25 PM EDT
A tornado watch kept Donald Trump away from his planned rally in Iowa on Saturday — and Ron DeSantis took full advantage, barnstorming the state in the former president’s absence.
Though Trump is trouncing DeSantis in national polls, the gap isn’t quite as massive in Iowa. If the Florida governor can convince Iowans he’s the better bet to beat President Joe Biden — and parlay that momentum into strong performances in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — the current national polls may not matter much.
Those are a lot of ifs. But as DeSantis girds to take on Trump directly and to formally announce his candidacy in the coming weeks, he’ll need to replicate the type of momentum he showed in the Hawkeye State on Saturday. Here are five things that went well for him on the trail in Iowa:
He did an adequate job at retail politics. The bar was quite low headed into the day. For months, DeSantis has been the subject of news stories about his struggles connecting with voters on the stump — even his perceived aloofness when talking with donors. So he countered that narrative when he spent half an hour shaking hands at a classic car museum in Sioux...
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