Iowa
DeSantis looks to connect with voters during 1st full day of campaigning in Iowa
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis begins his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday with a four-stop blitz through Iowa, trying to prioritize personally connecting with voters while proving he has the mettle to take on former President Donald Trump.
The Florida governor has appearances in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Pella and Cedar Rapids, packing in early events in the state whose caucuses kick off the GOP presidential primary voting. From there, he will head to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday.
At his Iowa kickoff event on Tuesday night with wife Casey, DeSantis was initially cautious while addressing an energetic crowd of roughly 500 gathered inside a suburban Des Moines church. But speaking to reporters afterward, he pushed back against Trump in a way he had not before on the national stage.
He accused Trump of essentially abandoning “America First” principles on immigration, supporting pandemic-related lockdowns and generally having “moved left” on key issues.
And DeSantis laughed off any criticism the former president had lobbed his way over his leadership in Florida, particularly on the state’s response to COVID-19.
“Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship. Are you kidding me?” DeSantis said.
DeSantis’ comments came a week after a stumbling Twitter announcement that raised questions about his readiness for a national campaign. Beyond the glitchy launch, DeSantis opens his campaign looking up at Trump in the polls amid persistent questions about the Florida governor’s ability to connect with voters in person.
Despite only recently formally joining the race, DeSantis has for months been dogged by criticism that he seems halting and uncomfortable when interacting with everyday Americans — despite a stage presence that can be commanding.
He also tends to limit his interactions with the media to those involving reporters from friendly media outlets, largely ensuring he doesn’t have to answer tough questions.
Kate Romano, 60, of Indianola, Iowa, said Tuesday night that she was more impressed by DeSantis than she expected, calling him energetic and fun to hear. She voted reluctantly for Trump in 2016 and 2020, and she’s interested in hearing from other candidates.
DeSantis, she said, is “the one who’s piqued my interest right now.”
“I liked to hear that he’ll stand up to Trump,” she said.
Kim Riesberg, 59, who attended DeSantis’ campaign kickoff with her husband, said she, too, voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but is not necessarily committed to him this time around.
DeSantis is a “little softer,” said Riesberg, of Dallas Center, Iowa. And “more appealing to the masses.”
Trump and his allies unleashed a fresh round of anti-DeSantis attacks on Tuesday, sharing new polls showing he’s the heavy favorite in the GOP race and taking aim at DeSantis’ leadership during the pandemic.
At the same time, a pro-Trump super PAC was running ads on Iowa television accusing DeSantis of wanting to raise taxes, an accusation DeSantis has denied.
The feud will have an opportunity to play in public as the week progresses, with both men courting voters in key states on the presidential primary calendar.
Trump, who was already scheduled to be in Iowa on Thursday, added a couple of stops in the state to his schedule for Wednesday, ensuring he would overlap with DeSantis for a time. Trump will tape a radio appearance in Des Moines before attending a GOP legislative dinner.
DeSantis, meanwhile, will be back in Iowa on Saturday for an event for 2024 GOP hopefuls hosted by Sen. Joni Ernst. They will be joined by declared candidates including Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, along with former Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to launch a campaign soon.
DeSantis met with evangelical pastors Tuesday ahead of his evening speech at the church, where he largely received an energetic response as he called for “a revival of American greatness.”
The crowd was especially receptive to his focus on conservative cultural issues, particularly gender identity, which he has targeted with legislation that bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.
“Our country is going in the wrong direction. We can see it and we can feel it,” DeSantis told the crowd in the church auditorium plastered with red, white and blue signs proclaiming a “Great American Comeback.” Hundreds more watched from an overflow room.
In his hourlong speech, DeSantis included a handfuls of indirect jabs at Trump. He said the nation needs “a disciplined, energetic president who will spit nails and fight the needed battles every single day over an eight-year period.”
Trump, of course, would be limited to one term.
He also said Republicans would end their “culture of losing” only by making the 2024 election a referendum on President Joe Biden. Trump, with his big personality and legal entanglements, has essentially made every election a referendum on himself.
But speaking to reporters and a small group of supporters in another room afterward, DeSantis addressed the feud head on. He noted that he avoided criticizing Trump while he was in the White House.
“When we disagreed, I never bashed him publicly because he was taking all this incoming from the media, the left, and even some Republicans. And the whole collusion was a total farce. And he was treated very, very poorly. And that bothered me, and it still bothers me to be honest.
“So, I never really would air those disagreements,” DeSantis added. “Well, now he’s attacking me over some of these disagreements, but I think he’s doing it in a way that the voters are going to side with me.”
There are signs the attacks could be wearing on voters who might otherwise support Trump.
Jack Spoonemore, a 20-year-old of Adel, Iowa, attended DeSantis’ appearance to see what energy the Florida governor would bring. He said he supported Trump in 2020, but he’s interested in perusing other candidates.
“I’m not a huge fan of the shade,” he said of Trump’s attacks on DeSantis.
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Fingerhut and Peoples reported from Clive, Iowa. Weissert reported from Washington.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – With four victories after intermission, including a technical fall and major decision, the Hawkeyes extended their winning streak over Iowa State to 20 in a row.
The Hawkeyes took the dual 21-15.
Early on, the matched looked dead even, with the teams trading decisions. But at 157 pounds, Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson picked up six points with an injury default win over Jacori Teemer. Teemer appeared to injure his hamstring, but Iowa head coach Tom Brands did not comment further on his status.
Iowa responded four straight wins from Michael Caliendo, Patrick Kennedy, Angelo Ferrari and Stephen Buchanan to seal the dual. Kennedy’s win came by technical fall, Buchanan’s by major decision. Yonger Bastida defeated Ben Kueter at heavyweight to earn the last points for Iowa State.
With the win, Iowa improves to 4-0. With the loss, ISU drops to 1-2.
No. 2 Iowa 21 – No. 12 Iowa State 15
125 – Adrian Meza (ISU) dec. Kale Petersen (Iowa) , 5-1
133 – Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec. Evan Frost (ISU), 11-7
141 – Zach Redding (ISU) dec. Ryder Block (Iowa), 5-4
149 – Kyle Parco (Iowa) dec. Anthony Echemendia (ISU), 4-3
157 – Paniro Johnson (ISU) inj. default Jacori Teemer (IA), 3:32
165 – Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec. Connor Euton (ISU), 12-7
174 – Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) tech. fall Aiden Riggins (ISU), 19-4
184 – Angelo Ferrari (Iowa) dec. Evan Bockman (ISU), 8-2
197 – Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) major dec. #20 Christian Carroll, 10-0
285 – Yonger Bastida (ISU) dec. Ben Kueter (Iowa), 7-2
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
The Iowa Hawkeyes were able to cobble together a 29-13 win over the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon in spite of entering the game with major distractions.
The chief distraction at hand was the status of Iowa’s quarterback situation, as the Hawkeyes were forced to roll with Jackson Stratton thanks to Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan both being sidelined.
McNamara’s status was particularly murky, as the initial consensus was that he would regain his starting job once it was revealed that Sullivan would be out for the season with an ankle injury.
However, confusion over McNamara’s availability made things, as head coach Kirk Ferentz would say, “cloudy,” and he ended up not being medically cleared to play due to a concussion he suffered back on Oct. 26.
Either way, Iowa emerged victorious in spite of Stratton going 10-of-14 for 76 yards. Kaleb Johnson carried the day, as per usual, racking up 164 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. Kamari Moulton also rattled off 114 yards, with 68 of those yards coming on a touchdown scamper.
But even with the running game operating smoothly (for the most part), you just felt like the Hawkeyes were lacking.
Maryland is not a good football team, so beating the Terrapins is not really a good barometer to determine how well Iowa played.
Because I’ll be honest: if the Hawkeyes faced an even decent ballclub on Saturday, they may very well have lost with all of the opportunities they blew.
Iowa had to settle for five field goals, and Moulton fumbled inside the red zone early in the first quarter. This should have been a much wider margin of victory than 16 points.
Yes, the defense held serve, but, again, it’s Maryland we’re talking about here.
The 2024 season has been a cluster of inconsistency for the Hawkeyes. They entered the season full of promise, but it has not materialized like they hoped.
It has reached a point where it has almost feels like Iowa needs to put this thing out of its misery. The Hawkeyes have no quarterback. They have no weapons in the passing game. Their defense isn’t quite as stingy as it was last season.
Iowa is 7-4, but it has been unable to put together a stretch of consistently sound football all year long. Fans are frustrated, and just getting a run-of-the-mill bowl game is not going to satisfy them.
Things need to change at Iowa City, because what the Hawkeyes are doing now isn’t working. The offense needs an overhaul. No more skirting the issue under center and with wide receivers.
The problem is this isn’t the NFL. You can’t just sign a bunch of free agents, make trades and draft players overnight. It’s going to involve a stark change in recruiting, and Iowa is somehow going to have to land a couple of big names via the transfer portal.
I don’t want to rain on the parade. The Hawkeyes won, and that’s great. Be proud of the kids for playing their guts out in the face of all of the adversity.
But man, it has certainly been a pedestrian season.
Iowa will close things out against Nebraska next week.
Iowa wrestling coach Clarissa Chun breaks down pair of dual wins
Iowa wrestling’s Clarissa Chun holds press conference after pair of dual wins over William Jewell and Cornell College
The rich continue to get richer.
The Iowa women’s wrestling program added to an already loaded roster late Friday night with the commitment of Isabella Marie Gonzalez. She is the No. 3 pound-for-pound recruit in girls high school wrestling regardless of age and the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025.
Gonzalez, who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 120 pounds at the high school level by USAWrestling, has the makings of a star. She was the U17 World Team representative (finishing fifth) for the United States at 53 kilograms this summer. She was also a U17 Pan-American Games champion in 2023, fitting the mold of what coach Clarissa Chun looks for in international success.
From the state of California, she is a two-time state champion, a multi-time Fargo medalist and a Super 32 champion.
“I am excited to announce my official commitment to the University of Iowa,” Gonzalez wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me through my journey. Go Hawkeyes!”
This is the first commit of the 2025 class for the Hawkeyes, who brought in seven freshmen and 11 total new faces in 2024. Given the proposed roster limits of 30 coming next season, the number of newcomers isn’t likely to match or exceed the 2024 number.
Regardless, this is a high-profile addition for the Hawkeyes in a weight that needed some additional talent. The lone question is whether that will be at 117 or 124 pounds for the Hawkeyes. Her addition to depth behind Brianna Gonzalez at 117 or potentially competing for a spot right away at 124 pounds will be a welcome addition either way.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
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