Iowa
Pence, Trump court Iowa voters in hopes of getting early state momentum
NEOLA, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence ended most of his 12 events across 10 Iowa counties this week by asking the crowd to pray over the next few months — for himself, his wife Karen and all of the other 2024 GOP hopefuls.
That ask presumably includes his former running mate and the highest hurdle for Pence to clear in his own quest for the White House: former President Donald Trump.
“I’d ask you if you’re of the mind to bow the head and bend the knee and from time to time, Karen and I’d be grateful if you remember us in your prayer,” Pence said in Sioux City Iowa on Wednesday morning. “Pray for all those good men and women that are standing in the Republican primaries.”
But Pence isn’t always deferential to his former boss. The three-day Iowa blitz was peppered with questions from voters about Trump — including two directly about Pence’s his role in certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021, a move that Trump falsely claims is why he is not currently in the White House. Pence, who usually refers to his frontrunner opponent carefully, offered some sharp responses back.
“I said, at least on one occasion, this week here in Iowa, I had no right to overturn the election in 2020,” Pence said at his final campaign stop on Thursday in a western Iowa town just a 20-minute drive from Council Bluffs, where Trump later held an event on Friday.
“I’m very confident — moreso after this week, that the people of Iowa are going to take a fresh look, not only at us, but at the former president, and that all the candidates,” he added.
The two candidate visits to the pivotal early state this week, both in size and tone, offered a split-screen of how the men who were once on the same ticket are strategizing to win the caucus and eventually the GOP nomination.
In Iowa this week, Pence spanned hundreds of miles from the Urbandale Independence Day parade to a local campground halfway across the state in Neola. He sat in intimate gatherings with local Republican parties and shook hands with veterans and community members. To the widely Evangelical Midwestern electorate, he billed himself as an experienced, faith-filled civil servant. Pence’s campaign confirmed to ABC News that his plan is to do much of the small-scale, retail politicking he engaged in over the last week.
Pence’s mention of Trump is mostly delicate while interacting with voters in Iowa, often telling people he’s proud of the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration and was loyal to the president “right up until that fateful day that my oath to the Constitution of the United States required me to do otherwise.”
“Pence is very methodical and strategic,” said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and former Republican National Committee aide. “He’s going to take Trump head-on on those things where politically he sees the best advantage — and with an eye to history, as he’s as he’s obviously trying to do.”
Trump walks a similar line when talking about Pence: polite, but unyielding in his response to the events of January 6.
“I like Mike Pence very much. He’s a very fine man, a very nice man,” Trump said during his CNN town hall in May. “He made a mistake. … He did something wrong. He should’ve put the votes back to the state legislatures and I think we would’ve had a different outcome.”
In Council Bluffs on Friday, hundreds lined up to hear Trump boast about the agricultural accomplishments of his presidency and stop at a local Dairy Queen before leaving the state. Throughout his remarks, Trump took jabs at his closest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis. He did not mention Pence once.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign told ABC News that the candidate’s path forward in Iowa is “full-spectrum dominance at every level that no other campaign can even come close to touching.”
The stakes are vastly different for the two candidates. For Trump, who lost the 2016 Iowa caucus to Sen. Ted Cruz before soaring to the Republican nomination, the caucus win would be welcome but not necessarily imperative. For Pence, who trails Trump and DeSantis by double digits in most national polls, Iowa could be essential.
And Pence seems to know that, pledging to make the “full Grassley”– a tour of all 99 counties in the state, something that senior Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has popularized.
“I think we need to do well. We’re gonna work our hearts out. I’m gonna go to all 99 counties…I’m gonna do the whole Pizza Ranch tour,” Pence said at an event in Le Mars, Iowa this week, when asked how essential the Hawkeye State’s contest was.
Bob Vander Plaats, president of The Family Leader and an influential Evangelical Christian activist in the state, noted that an Iowa win, especially against former President Trump, could be one of the surest ways to gain serious momentum in the GOP primaries.
“It’s not always that you pick the winner, but you narrow the field,” said Vander Plaats, who acknowledged that past Iowa caucus winners like Cruz, Rick Santorum or Mike Huckabee didn’t go on to become presidential nominees.
“The thing is here, I think why Iowa is so crucial this time, If Trump wins Iowa, I think a lot of people would think ‘I don’t know how you’re gonna stop him.’ but if you beat Trump in Iowa, that’s gonna basically show that he can beat that he can be beaten and it will be a launchpad.”
Pence appears to be putting faith in the ability of the people of Iowa to recognize the distinctions between him and Trump. And it’s precisely his religiosity and emphasis on “civility” that seemed to impact some Iowa voters this week.
“To actually sit here and listen to you talk about your faith…And then to think that this could be a reality for our country to be led by a man of faith. It just touches Nancy and my heart deeply. That’s what we need,” Sioux Center resident Bernerd Versteeg stood up and told Pence at a meet-and-greet in the town on Wednesday.
But Versteeg, in an interview with ABC News following the event, said he still wasn’t sure he’d caucus for Pence. He said he needed to give a “few more” a look.
Ida County GOP Chair Teresa Paulsrud said she thinks the state is fair game for a candidate like Pence, who she said is “a wonderful person”
“Obviously, I voted for Trump twice. There are Republicans who are not sure they’re going to do that a third time. And I’ve heard some of that feedback. It’s just hard to say. You know, this is impossible to predict,” she said after hosting Pence’s event in Ida County, adding that “nobody can beat his experience level.”
Vander Plaats noted the disconnect between early polling and victories in early states.
“The early polls just don’t say a whole lot. If it was the case, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz, none of them were to win the Iowa caucuses because they were all trailing and trailing significantly,” Vander Plaats said.
“So what you need to do is doing the things that Pence is doing and that’s going from Pizza Ranch to Pizza Ranch, shaking hands answering the same questions and just wearing on people well. I think Iowans are wise they’re savvy, they’re very discerning, but they don’t make up their mind quickly. And I think that benefits somebody like Vice President Pence.”
And Chip Saltsman, national campaign chairman for the Pence campaign who ran former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 2008 White House bid, told ABC News that he wasn’t worried about Pence’s place in the polls.
“Governor Huckabee was at 1%, in the summertime in 2008. I have yet to see a front runner in the summer make it to the Iowa caucus and win,” Saltsman said. Huckabee won the caucus that cycle before losing the GOP nomination to then-Sen. John McCain.
“Iowa is a grassroots state that rewards hard work, and it’s a state where you have to earn their vote and you can’t buy it,” he added.
There are roughly six months until the Iowa caucus, slated to be held on Jan. 15, 2024.
–ABC News’ Libby Cathey and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
Des Moines Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024
Here’s a look at The Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024.
(This story was updated to add new information)
It’s Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season. Check out our list of IHSAA scores from Friday night’s action.
Stream Iowa HS football on the NFHS Network
Scores are listed in alphabetical order by winning team
IHSAA scores from Week 7 of Iowa high school football season
Friday’s games:
- Ankeny Centennial 45, Des Moines Roosevelt 3
- Bedford 77, Lamoni 0
- Benton 38, Grinnell 7
- Bettendorf 48, Davenport Central 0
- Cedar Falls 38, Dubuque Senior 0
- Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, Dubuque Hempstead 14
- Cedar Rapids Prairie 56, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 7
- Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, Oskaloosa 0
- Central City 64, Lone Tree 8
- Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 23, Western Christian 7
- Clarinda 47, Chariton 7
- Columbus 48, Van Buren County 7
- Creston 70, Knoxville 0
- Crestwood 28, New Hampton 27
- Davenport Assumption 34, Washington 6
- Decorah 57, Marion 14
- Dike-New Hartford 42, Aplington-Parkersburg 0
- Don Bosco 62, Turkey Valley 0
- Dowling Catholic 49, Urbandale 28
- Dyersville Beckman 28, Iowa City Regina 15
- East Mills 50, Exira-EHK 44
- East Union 64, Murray 36
- Easton Valley 61, Midland 21
- Edgewood-Colesburg 84, Calamus-Wheatland 31
- Emmetsburg 64, Eagle Grove 0
- Fremont-Mills 40, CAM 28
- Fort Dodge 55, Storm Lake 26
- Fort Dodge St. Edmond 43, Colo-Nesco 6
- Glenwood 20, Dallas Center-Grimes 17
- Glidden-Ralston 48, Coon Rapids-Bayard 6
- GMG 52, Meskwaki Settlement 0
- Greene County 10, Southeast Valley 7
- Harlan 24, Nevada 21
- Highland 41, Louisa-Muscatine 6
- Hinton 19, OABCIG 13
- Humboldt 21, Algona 20
- IKM-Manning 13, Southwest Valley 6
- Iowa City Liberty 28, Ankeny 20
- Jesup 35, Iowa Falls-Alden 6
- Johnston 56, Council Bluffs Lincoln 7
- Lenox 55, Southeast Warren 8
- Lewis Central 28, Winterset 24
- Linn-Mar 55, Davenport West 6
- Logan-Magnolia 14, Council Bluffs St. Albert 10
- Maquoketa Valley 35, North Linn 16
- Marshalltown 26, Ames 21
- Mediapolis 49, Davis County 20
- MMCRU 41, Westwood 18
- MOC-Floyd Valley 35, Sioux Center 14
- Mount Vernon 56, Fort Madison 7
- North Butler 22, Nashua-Plainfield 0
- North Fayette Valley won by forfeit over Oelwein
- North Iowa 46, Harris-Lake Park 40
- North Polk 22, Indianola 21
- Okoboji 49, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 21
- Osage 42, Waukon 6
- Pekin 57, Wapello 0
- Pleasant Valley 42, Muscatine 7
- Remsen St. Mary’s 46, Woodbine 30
- Riceville 57, Waterloo Christian 0
- Ridge View 22, West Sioux 7
- Riverside 41, Earlham 6
- Roland-Story 28, Des Moines Christian 21
- Saint Ansgar 53, West Fork 0
- Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21, Carroll 0
- Sibley-Ocheyedan 48, HMS 14
- Sidney 62, Stanton-Essex 20
- Sigourney-Keota 62, Colfax-Mingo 26
- South Central Calhoun 41, Panorama 12
- South Hardin 34, Hudson 21
- Southeast Polk 31, Waukee 28
- Spencer 41, Sioux City West 0
- Spirit Lake 49, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 6
- Sumner-Fredericksburg 54, Central Springs 12
- Treynor 36, Shenandoah 6
- Tri-Center 34, Woodbury Central 8
- Underwood 41, Missouri Valley 6
- Van Meter 54, Centerville 0
- Wapsie Valley 46, BCLUW 0
- Wayne 30, Central Decatur 6
- Webster City 42, Charles City 21
- West Hancock 60, Lake Mills 6
- West Lyon 50, Sheldon 0
- Wilton 39, West Branch 20
- Winfield-Mt. Union 68, Mormon Trail 8
Thursday’s games:
- Le Mars 44, Fort Dodge 37
- Pella 42, D.M. Hoover 10
- S.C North 37, D.M. East 0
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.
Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.
Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.
That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.
Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.
The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.
However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.
Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.
But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.
The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.
Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.
Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.
And Iowa fans are sick of it.
The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.
Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.
Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Here’s who all 71 Iowa high school football teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face in Week 7 games Friday night.
Class 3A gets the spotlight this week as its top two teams face top-seven opponents. No. 1 Algona visits No. 7 Humboldt, while second-ranked Williamsburg hosts a Solon team eager to bounce back from last week’s loss to Benton Community that dropped it from the top spot.
There is intrigue in the 8-Player top five as well, where three of the top five teams face fellow unbeaten foes. That includes No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s taking on No. 10 Woodbine and No. 2 Algona Garrigan hosting Ruthven GTRA.
Class 5A
No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (5-1) vs. Waterloo West (5-1)
No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (5-1) at Urbandale (3-3)
No. 3 Bettendorf (6-0) at Davenport Central (2-4)
No. 4 Pleasant Valley (5-1) vs. Muscatine (2-4)
No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (4-2) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (1-5)
No. 6 Linn-Mar (5-1) vs. Davenport West (0-6)
No. 7 Johnston (4-2) vs. Council Bluffs Lincoln (4-2)
No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (5-1) vs. Ankeny (3-3)
No. 9 Waukee (4-2) at Southeast Polk (3-3)
No. 10 Sioux City East (4-2) vs. Des Moines Lincoln (1-5)
Class 4A
No. 1 Lewis Central (6-0) at Winterset (4-2)
No. 2 Pella (6-0) at Des Moines Hoover (0-6), Thursday
No. 3 North Polk (6-0) at No. 10 Indianola (4-2)
No. 4 Gilbert (6-0) vs. Bondurant-Farrar (1-5)
No. 5 Decorah (6-0) at Marion (2-4)
No. 6 Adel ADM (5-1) at Ballard (3-3)
No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Oskaloosa (1-5)
No. 8 North Scott (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)
No. 9 Newton (4-2) vs. Carlisle (0-6)
No. 10 Indianola (4-2) vs. No. 3 North Polk (6-0)
No. 10 Western Dubuque (4-2) at Waterloo East (2-4)
Class 3A
No. 1 Algona (6-0) at No. 7 Humboldt (5-1)
No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1) vs. No. 5 Solon (5-1)
No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (6-0) at West Delaware (4-2)
No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-0) vs. Carroll (4-2)
No. 5 Mount Vernon (5-1) vs. Fort Madison (0-6)
No. 5 Solon (5-1) at No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1)
No. 7 Humboldt (5-1) vs. No. 1 Algona (6-0)
No. 8 Sioux City Heelan (4-2) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (1-5)
No. 9 Independence (4-2) at Maquoketa (1-5)
No. 10 Nevada (5-1) at Harlan (3-3)
Class 2A
No. 1 West Lyon (6-0) at Sheldon (2-4)
No. 2 Monroe PCM (6-0) at West Marshall (5-1)
No. 3 Spirit Lake (5-1) at Garner GHV (1-5)
No. 4 Van Meter (5-1) vs. Centerville (4-2)
No. 5 Carroll Kuemper (5-1) vs. Saydel (1-5)
No. 6 North Fayette Valley (5-1) vs. Oelwein (0-6) — canceled, Oelwein to forfeit
No. 7 Northeast (6-0) at Tipton (2-4)
No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2) vs. No. 10 Western Christian (4-2)
No. 9 Roland-Story (4-2) vs. Des Moines Christian (4-2)
No. 10 Western Christian (4-2) at No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2)
Class 1A
No. 1 Grundy Center (6-0) at Alburnett (4-2)
No. 2 Wilton (6-0) at West Branch (2-4)
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford (5-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-4)
No. 4 Emmetsburg (6-0) vs. Eagle Grove (0-6)
No. 5 Iowa City Regina (6-0) at Dyersville Beckman (4-2)
No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1) vs. No. 10 Hinton (5-1)
No. 7 South Hardin (5-1) at Hudson (5-1)
No. 8 Treynor (5-1) vs. Shenandoah (3-3)
No. 9 Sigourney-Keota (5-1) at Colfax-Mingo (1-5)
No. 10 Hinton (5-1) at No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1)
Class A
No. 1 West Hancock (6-0) at Lake Mills (4-2)
No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC (6-0) vs. Mount Ayr (5-1)
No. 3 Saint Ansgar (5-1) at West Fork (1-5)
No. 4 Lisbon (6-0) vs. Danville (4-2)
No. 5 Earlham (5-1) at Oakland Riverside (4-2)
No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1) vs. No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1)
No. 7 Le Mars Gehlen (5-1) at South O’Brien (0-6)
No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1) at No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1)
No. 9 North Linn (6-0) vs. Maquoketa Valley (5-1)
No. 10 Madrid (4-2) at North Mahaska (3-3)
8-Player
No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0) vs. No. 10 Woodbine (6-0)
No. 2 Algona Garrigan (6-0) vs. Ruthven GTRA (6-0)
No. 3 Don Bosco (6-0) vs. Turkey Valley (3-3)
No. 4 Audubon (6-0) vs. Collins-Maxwell (4-2)
No. 5 Lenox (6-0) vs. Southeast Warren (6-0)
No. 6 Iowa Valley (6-0) vs. HLV (1-6)
No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (5-1) at Clarksville (5-2)
No. 8 Anita CAM (5-1) at Fremont-Mills (5-1)
No. 9 Bedford (5-1) vs. Lamoni (4-2)
No. 10 Woodbine (6-0) at No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0)
Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com
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