Republican DeSantis strives for personal touch on 2024 kick-off tour
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[June 01, 2023]
By James Oliphant
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (Reuters) - For Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,
campaigning for president in Iowa meant coming to a place like the Grass
Wagon, a no-frills, dimly lit reception hall where about 300 people on
Wednesday awaited him, more curious voters than ardent supporters.
DeSantis was on the second day of his first swing through Iowa as a 2024
presidential candidate, and the modest surroundings and relatively small
crowd – the venue was about one-third filled – was a reminder of the
work that lies ahead if he hopes to wrest the Republican nomination from
Donald Trump.
Earlier, DeSantis and his wife, Casey DeSantis, hosted an event at a
welding company in Sioux City, in Iowa's extreme west. Now they were
downriver in Council Bluffs, a city of about 60,000, and had two more
events ahead before flying to New Hampshire and South Carolina for the
remainder of a three-state, 12-city tour.
The events were the kind of small-scale, meet-and-greet affairs that
loom as a test for DeSantis, 44, more known for his low-key,
often-taciturn demeanor and preference for policy discussions.
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But that kind of shoulder-rubbing campaigning is a must in Iowa for
candidates who hope to win the state's caucuses next year, the first
Republican nominating contest of the 2024 election, particularly if
they, like DeSantis, lack Trump’s celebrity. Iowa voters are well known
for demanding to see candidates up close.
With Trump the favorite for the nomination, a win in Iowa for DeSantis
would shake up the dynamics of the race and perhaps convince some voters
to give him another look. That means he will need to stump in places
like Council Bluffs again and again before February.
Matt Windschitl, a state representative from the area and a DeSantis
supporter, believes the governor will put in the work.
“This is grassroots politics 101,” Windschitl said in the back of the
hall as DeSantis delivered his remarks. ”He’s doing all the right things
right now that he needs to.”
DeSantis had ditched the suitcoat and slacks he wore at his kickoff
event the evening before in Des Moines in favor of jeans and a fleece
vest. But his remarks were largely similar to those delivered in other
speeches, and he stood behind a lectern at some remove from the
audience.
In his second week as a presidential candidate, DeSantis was still
striving to fuse his standard speech about his accomplishments in
Florida with an outline of how he would govern as president and as a
person.
The result was an address that sometimes appeared to be trying to do too
much. He spoke for about an hour even as 90-degree weather began to bake
the room and some attendees fanned themselves to keep cool.
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![](../images/060123PIX/news_q26.jpg)
Florida Governor Ron Desantis addresses
Iowa residents on his second day of campaigning as an official
candidate for the 2024 U.S. Republican presidential nomination, at
Sun Valley Barn in Pella, Iowa, U.S. May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Scott
Morgan
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/01/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_053123.jpg)
One key addition was a story about his youngest child’s baptism and
an anecdote about securing baptismal water from Israel’s Sea of
Galilee, perhaps a nod to the evangelical Christian voters who wield
considerable influence in the Iowa caucuses. A reference to a
recently passed near-total ban on abortion in Florida drew cheers.
As he has before, DeSantis painted a picture of a nation at an
“inflection point,” citing inflation concerns, the porous U.S.
southern border, crime, and the advent of what he terms “woke
ideology.” He spoke of the need for a strong and “energetic” chief
executive in the White House.
“We need to restore sanity to this society,” he said. “We can’t have
every institution in American life going on some kind of ideological
joy ride,” he added.
DeSantis, who holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University as well
as a degree from Harvard Law School, also spoke of growing up in
working-class family, working minimum-wage jobs and joining the U.S.
Navy instead of landing a lucrative job. He said he and his wife
were "regular people."
DeSantis brought Casey to the stage. Earlier in the day, she
participated in a “fireside chat” with her husband in Sioux City,
seated in matching armchairs in front of a John Deere tractor.
Casey DeSantis is considered to be her husband’s closest adviser. In
her remarks, she showed herself as a fierce advocate for DeSantis’
Florida record while reminding listeners that the two are parents of
three young children.
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She mixed in stories of her kids' wreaking havoc within the
governor’s residence back home with a spirited defense of DeSantis’
COVID-era policies, when he resisted the federal government’s push
for lockdowns, masks and vaccines.
“He held the line in defense of the rights and the liberties of the
people in his state,” she said to loud applause.
As the event drew to a close, both waded into the crowd to pose for
pictures and sign memorabilia. At times, DeSantis was deep within
the scrum, surrounded by voters, well-wishers and TV cameras.
“I thought his speech was very personal. It was clearly not just
canned,” said Doug Krasne, 70, of Council Bluffs, who said he had
voted for Trump twice but was now looking for another Republican to
support.
“My mind will stay open,” he said. “But I was very impressed with
what I saw today."
(Reporting by James Oliphant in Iowa; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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