Can Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis beat Donald Trump for the GOP nomination? Iowans weigh in – KCCI Des Moines
Both DeSantis and Nikki Haley are fighting to be seen as the clear alternative to the former president and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Iowans weigh in on whether either candidate has the ability to beat Trump.
Both DeSantis and Nikki Haley are fighting to be seen as the clear alternative to the former president and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Iowans weigh in on whether either candidate has the ability to beat Trump.
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Both DeSantis and Nikki Haley are fighting to be seen as the clear alternative to the former president and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Iowans weigh in on whether either candidate has the ability to beat Trump.
Both Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are fighting to be seen as the clear alternative to the former president.
After tying for second place in Iowa in the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll released last month, both candidates have spent time and money trading jabs in TV advertising and on the campaign trail.
The two Republican candidates have also made more frequent mentions of Donald Trump during Iowa campaign stops as they work to convince Iowans that they have a viable path forward to win the White House.
DeSantis told crowds in Des Moines Friday night at an Iowa forum, hosted by the Christian conservative organization The Family Leader, that he does not believe Trump can win in a general election.
“I view his candidacy as high risk with low reward. I think as a lame duck with poor personnel and the distractions, it’s going to be hard for him to get this done,” DeSantis said.
“My candidacy is lower risk because we’ll run Biden ragged around this country, but high reward because you get a two-term conservative president who’s going to stand for your values and deliver for you for eight full years,” he added.
Josh Subra, an undecided Republican from Des Moines, said he previously voted for Trump, but he’s now open to supporting DeSantis.
“I voted for Trump last time, and I could still consider voting for DeSantis. Nikki Haley’s not really, I don’t think she appeals to the Trump side as well,” Subra said.
His wife Esther agreed. “I see people who support DeSantis all the time, and I think he hits home a lot for normal Americans,” she said.
However, Haley is making the case that she is a better candidate to win the GOP nomination. In an interview with KCCI Friday morning, Haley took aim at Trump.
“I think Donald Trump was the right president at the right time. I was proud to serve in his administration. I agree with a lot of his policies. But the reality is, chaos follows him,” Haley said. “And with the world on fire right now, we can’t afford to be sitting in that chaos.”
When asked whether she could beat Trump and win the GOP nomination, she touted national polling that shows her as the strongest candidate to beat Biden in the general election. She also described a path forward, propelled by the early state lineup.
“It all starts in Iowa. They’re the first line of defense. We hope that they’ll be strong. We hope they’ll come out in support,” Haley said. “I’ll be strong in New Hampshire, and then we’re going to go into my home state of South Carolina, and we’ll be head to head with Trump. Then we’ll finish it and we’ll go right into Super Tuesday. We can do this. America deserves this.”
Several Iowans say they could see DeSantis or Haley overtaking Trump, but they’re torn on which candidate to support.
“Ron DeSantis has done a lot of good things in Florida,” said Jim Kunze, an undecided Republican from Altoona. “I really like his policies. If he would implement that in the United States, as a nation, we’d be better off than we are today.”
However, Kunze also said he could see himself caucusing for Haley.
“She has a really good background. She understands her foreign affairs, you know, as a UN ambassador. That would help tremendously to make us a lot stronger with other nations. So I think she’s very capable as well,” he added.
But Greg Crawford, a Republican from Clive, doesn’t believe Haley or DeSantis can overcome Trump’s lead.
“I think Trump has too much momentum carryover from the last election…He has a large following,” Crawford said. “Either one of those would not be my choice.”
Trump will return to Iowa Saturday for a campaign event in Fort Dodge.
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