Hundreds of Iowa Democrats picked up takeout orders from area restaurants, headed home and watched former Vice President Joe Biden deliver a speech across their …
Hundreds of Iowa Democrats picked up takeout orders from area restaurants, headed home and watched former Vice President Joe Biden deliver a speech across their computer screens at a virtual party fundraiser last month. That same night, a roomful of President Donald Trump’s supporters munched on pork chops and chicken wings as they gathered at a Waukee barbecue joint to show their support for the president’s campaign. As the coronavirus pandemic persists and positive cases continue to mount in Iowa, the two presidential campaigns have adopted markedly different strategies to persuade Iowa voters in the final months of the race. Biden has relied almost entirely on virtual outreach; Trump has begun integrating more traditional in-person events. The differing strategies will be on full display nationally in coming weeks. Biden is set to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president during a mostly virtual convention scheduled to begin Monday. And Trump is determined to accept the Republican Party’s nomination in person at a boisterous rally the following week, though he’s yet to name a final location. “We’re firing on all cylinders,” said Eric Branstad, Trump campaign senior adviser in Iowa. “… What we really had (in 2016) was energy. And that same energy, if not even more, is out there today.” Biden’s Iowa state director, Lauren Dillon, said the campaign has prioritized the health and safety of Iowans and will follow standards set by medical experts and public health officials. “We will continue to engage Iowans every single day in every single part of this state through socially distant activities and events, and encourage Iowans to early vote or vote by mail this fall,” she said in a statement. The efforts come as Iowa emerges as a likely November battleground. Trump carried the state by 9 percentage points in 2016, but a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in June showed the president leading Biden by just 1 percentage point,44% to 43%. “I’m excited about Iowa,” former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told a group of Iowans on a Zoom call meant to rally Biden supporters earlier this month. “In Virginia, seven years ago, we were all red. Today, we are blue as blue could be.” He was talking up Biden’s “Made in America” plan for the economy with a slew of local leaders and activists in what has become a steady stream of surrogate-led virtual events targeted to Iowans. Earlier this month, U. S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona joined Iowa Latino leaders to announce the campaign’s new Iowa Latino Leadership Council and discuss Biden’s Latino agenda. And in July, U. S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota joined a group of state legislators to discuss Biden’s plan for addressing the needs of caregivers and early childhood education providers. “It’s interesting, because normally we would all be doing these in person, and you’d probably have thousands of people doing door to door,” McAuliffe said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “None of that is occurring now. On the other hand, people are paying attention. They’re answering their phones, so there’s a lot more telephonic work going on. There’s a lot more on social media. So we’re still being able to do the contact that we need to do.… They know how important it is for Biden to win.” The campaign has also supported other socially distanced events, providing signs and materials to drive-through voter “activation stations” hosted by county parties.
