Iowa
Ron DeSantis tells Iowa Republicans: ‘I will be rooting for’ Biden for Democratic nominee
Watch: Ron DeSantis’ full 2024 RNC remarks
Watch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ full remarks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Iowa’s delegation to the Republican National Convention to be prepared for Democrats to push President Joe Biden aside and name a new presidential candidate ahead of November’s election.
“I hope and pray that they don’t take that nomination away from him,” DeSantis told the group Wednesday. “We want him to be the Democratic nominee. And I will be rooting for him.”
DeSantis said Biden’s shaky debate performance in late June showed he is not fit for office.
He warned Iowa Republicans that “the knives are out” for Biden among Democrats.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., became the most prominent Democratic lawmaker so far to publicly push Biden to step aside. In a statement Wednesday, Schiff said he has “serious concerns” about Biden’s chances in November.
“I think we need to prepare that something can happen, and something probably will,” DeSantis said. “Democrats usually don’t just cede power. You know, they usually go down kicking and screaming. So be ready.”
He said he expects the media to prop up a new candidate with “hundreds of millions of dollars in positive coverage” in an effort to beat Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump.
The Florida governor, who campaigned in Iowa aggressively ahead of the 2024 Republican caucuses, addressed the delegation on the third day of the national convention his well-received primetime convention speech Tuesday night.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa was also on hand, and she too gloated over Biden’s dismal political outlook.
“Oh my gosh, folks,” she said. “He is on a nosedive. And the sad thing is they’ve dug in so deep at this point, how on earth did they get rid of him?”
She said Republicans are feeling so confident that they’ve “started measuring curtains” for the Virginia Senate office.
“While I don’t want to say we’re going to waltz into the White House with Donald J. Trump this fall, we can’t take it for granted,” Ernst said. “I don’t want you to take it for granted. But I can tell you with the enthusiasm and the excitement that we have felt during this convention, and what we will feel leading up to the election, we are going to sweep this election not just for President Trump, but we’re going to see a majority in the United States Senate.”
The Iowa delegation gathered for lunch Wednesday on a veranda overlooking sailboats on an expansive Lake Michigan at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum just outside of downtown Milwaukee.
More: 2028 presidential hopefuls seek to make their mark at Republican National Convention
The early chatter about the 2028 presidential cycle hovered over the group, which was also visited by 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas on Tuesday.
Iowa Republicans expect to once again hold the state’s traditional first-in-the-nation caucuses to launch the 2028 presidential nominating contest. And their delegation events are historically well attended by those with future White House aspirations.
DeSantis finished a distant second place in the 2024 Iowa caucuses behind Trump. But at 45, he still has a long political runway ahead of him.
Those ambitions may be clouded by the selection of Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance as Trump’s running mate, making Vance the heir-apparent to Trump’s powerful MAGA legacy and an instant 2028 contender.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
Iowa
Iowa Makes Offer To Explosive WR In Transfer Portal
The Iowa Hawkeyes are in desperate need of wide receivers, and they are making a play for a big one in the NCAA transfer portal.
Now former Idaho Vandals receiver Jordan Dwyer has reported an offer from Iowa, via Josh Helmer of Hawkeyes Wire.
While Dwyer played in the Big Sky conference and did not garner much national attention as a result, he has certainly been a sought after name in the portal.
The six-foot pass-catcher is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he hauled in 78 receptions for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Dwyer was particularly effective late in the season, as he caught 29 passes for 489 yards and five scores over Idaho’s final three games.
He is a four-star transfer target, per 247 Sports. As a matter of fact, he is the 17th-ranked transfer target in the entire country.
For comparison’s sake, Iowa’s leading receiver in 2024 was Jacob Gill, who snared 32 balls for 382 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
Dwyer eclipsed two of those numbers in three games alone. Yes, he wasn’t playing in the Big Ten, but it certainly seems like he would be a welcomed addition to a Hawkeyes receiving corps that struggled mightily this past season.
Iowa already landed a quarterback through the transfer portal in Hank Brown, who is coming over from the Auburn Tigers.
While that’s all well and good, the Hawkeyes need to add some weapons, too, and Dwyer would certainly represent a fantastic option.
We’ll see if Iowa can land him.
Iowa
Eastern Iowa’s most popular baby names for 2024
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – UnityPoint Health hospitals across eastern Iowa have released the list of the most popular baby names for 2024.
The hospitals create the list using data from UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s, Finley, and Allen Hospitals in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Waterloo.
Here are the top five most popular baby names:
Top five girl’s names:
- Charlotte
- Evelyn
- Harper
- Amelia
- Olivia
Top five boy’s names:
- Henry
- Oliver
- Theodore
- Jack
- Jackson
Here’s a list broken down by hospital and city:
Cedar Rapids:
Girl’s names:
- Evelyn
- Charlotte
- Harper
- Amelia
- Nova
Boys names:
- Oliver
- Henry
- Silas
- Owen
- Asher
Dubuque:
Girl’s names:
- Lainey
- Eden
- Amelia
- Layla
- Nora
Boy’s names:
- Cooper
- Henry
- Beau
- Oliver
- Brooks
Waterloo:
Girl’s names:
- Lainey
- Nora
- Adeline
- Ava
- Emerson
Boy’s names:
- Ezra
- Theodore
- Emmett
- Henry
- Bennett
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa 104-57 New Orleans (Dec 15, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN
IOWA CITY, Iowa — — Owen Freeman matched his career-best with 22 points and Iowa cruised to a 104-57 win over New Orleans on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes rebounded from their first home-court loss, falling 89-80 to No. 3 Iowa State on Thursday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
Brock Harding opened the game with a 3-pointer, but the Privateers answered with back-to-back layups from MJ Thomas and James White to take their only lead of the game, 4-3. Freeman answered with a layup and Payton Sandfort and Drew Thelwell each hit from deep to put Iowa in front for good and a 10-0 run made it 29-11 midway through the half.
Iowa (8-3) shot 62.7% from the field for the game (42 of 67), including 14 of 29 from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes amassed 28 assists on 42 made baskets. Sandfort hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Josh Dix and Brock Harding each added 13 points, with Harding collecting six assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Pryce Sandfort added 10 points off the bench.
New Orleans, playing its first game in more than a week, was 25 of 67 from the field (37.3%) and was just 4 of 24 from long range. White paced the Privateers (2-7) with 24 points, six rebounds and two assists. Thomas added 14 points.
——
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