(Headline USA) The competition between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis is intensifying as the former president is scheduling a return trip to Iowa on the same day that the Florida governor was already going to be in the state that will kick off the Republican contest for the White House.
A Trump campaign official said Saturday that the former president plans to be in Iowa on May 13 to headline an organizing rally at a sprawling park in downtown Des Moines. That’s when DeSantis was already slated to headline Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra’s annual summer fundraiser in northwest Iowa and speak at a party fundraiser later that evening in Cedar Rapids.
The Trump campaign official, who requested anonymity to discuss the trip before it was announced, said the Des Moines organizing rally has been in the planning stage for weeks and is aimed at identifying caucus supporters and volunteers.
The move is a sign of the escalating competition between the two men who are the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump and his allies have become increasingly emboldened in their efforts to attack DeSantis, who is expected to announce his White House bid sometime after the Florida Legislature wraps up its work in the coming week.
Trump’s trip is also notable for its emphasis on the type of ground-level organizing that is vital in Iowa politics and was often missing during his 2016 campaign, when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz overtook him and won the state’s GOP caucuses.
Trump has been almost singularly focused on swinging at DeSantis.
DeSantis, in the meantime, has largely ignored Trump’s jabs. However, a pro-DeSantis super political action committee, Never Back Down, began to respond in paid ads this month.
Meanwhile, the super PAC promoting DeSantis is hiring Iowa staff to begin organizing support for the governor before he enters the race.
The stakes for both men are particularly high in Iowa, where the caucuses in February offer opportunities for them to cement their status atop the GOP.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
