{"id":1987478,"date":"2023-08-01T04:22:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T08:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/personality-or-policies-iowans-are-split-on-what-is-tripping-up-desantis\/"},"modified":"2023-08-01T04:26:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T08:26:29","slug":"personality-or-policies-iowans-are-split-on-what-is-tripping-up-desantis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/personality-or-policies-iowans-are-split-on-what-is-tripping-up-desantis\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowans divided on DeSantis: Personality or policies?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpersonality-or-policies-iowans-are-split-on-what-is-tripping-up-desantis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1987478&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Prospective Iowa Republican primary caucusgoers concerned about DeSantis&#8217;s policies<\/h2>\n<p>DES\u200c MOINES, Iowa \u2014 Prospective Iowa Republican\u200b primary caucusgoers are pointing\u200d to Gov.\u2062 Ron DeSantis&#8217;s (R-FL) policies, rather than his personality, \u2062as another reason \u2062he is not\u200c connecting with the electorate.<\/p>\n<p>The feedback coincides with DeSantis&#8217;s decision to focus more on policy, \u200bincluding with an economic address in \u2064New Hampshire on Monday, amid a slump in early\u2063 polls compared\u2064 to \u200cnomination front-runner former President Donald Trump and problems with small dollar fundraising.<\/p>\n<h3>Concerns about DeSantis&#8217;s strategy<\/h3>\n<p>Before a Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) town hall in Ankeny, \u2063retired Grand Junction independent Dean Lyons, 58, queried DeSantis&#8217;s strategy \u2063to run \u200cto the\u200d right of Trump as his campaign \u200breconsiders its tactics, \u2062such as being \u200dmore nationally \u2062oriented, granting more\u200c traditional \u200cmedia interviews, and participating in\u200d his \u200bfirst <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/caitlyn-jenner-campaign-is-going-broke\/\" title=\"Caitlyn Jenner campaign is going broke\">bus tour<\/a> of Iowa before last week&#8217;s Iowa Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s in trouble,&#8221; Lyons told the \u2064Washington\u200d Examiner of\u2064 DeSantis. \u200c&#8221;I think\u2063 it&#8217;s his message. I think he&#8217;s almost \u200dtoo far that \u200cway. And I&#8217;m going\u200b to be honest \u2063with you: If \u200cthey elect\u200d Trump, [President Joe] Biden \u200bwill be in\u2062 again. \u200dAnd I think DeSantis, \u200che was supposed to be \u200dthe man, and he \u200bjust \u200chasn&#8217;t caught\u2062 fire.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Earlier\u200d that day, Kathy Harvey, 66, who could caucus\u2064 for \u2062DeSantis, also expressed concerns about the \u2064governor \u200bbeing \u200dtoo right-wing after attending \u2064the launch of his two-day five-stop bus tour organized by\u2064 his super PAC Never Back Down in Chariton.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very \u200bconservative. I know I am,&#8221; the Chariton musician said outside the Iron Horse bar and restaurant. &#8220;The majority of people \u2014 \u200cto\u2063 me, it&#8217;s unfortunate \u200c\u2014 are going to \u200bthe Left &#8230; and that&#8217;s why I think then he might not be\u2062 as popular with some people\u200c today.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But before DeSantis&#8217;s meet-and-greet with about 30 people, Brad Reece, 61, encouraged the governor to\u2062 &#8220;stick with his conservative values&#8221; and &#8220;not vary away from that&#8221; after he \u2064rose to prominence, \u2064in part, because \u2064of his cultural, \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/finally-a-church-that-is-acting-like-a-church-iowa-diocese-bans-preferred-pronouns-insists-on-traditional-bathrooms-locker-rooms\/\" title=\"\u2018Finally, A Church That Is Acting Like A Church\u2019: Iowa Diocese Bans Preferred Pronouns, Insists On Traditional Bathrooms, Locker Rooms\">anti-woke policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;He needs\u200d to stand \u200bup \u200cfor what he believes \u200bin and convince the\u200d voters that \u2062if he is \u200cthe elected candidate &#8230;\u200b he will do what he says\u2062 he&#8217;s going to do,&#8221; the \u2062Chariton farmer said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Between now and \u2064early next year when they have their primaries, in politics,\u2064 that&#8217;s an eternity,&#8221; he\u2063 added. &#8220;A\u2064 lot \u2064of things can happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Confidence in DeSantis&#8217;s ability \u200dto bring change<\/h3>\n<p>The following day before \u2062another DeSantis meet \u2064and greet, this time in \u200cOskaloosa with about 50 people, Jenna Belcher, 49, dismissed criticism regarding the governor&#8217;s\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/personality-or-policies-iowans-are-split-on-what-is-tripping-up-desantis\/\" title=\"Iowans divided on DeSantis: Personality or policies?\">retail \u200dpolitics skills hours<\/a> after\u200c he \u2063told a \u200dchild at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Corydon\u200b that her slushy ice\u200c drink must\u200b have &#8220;a\u200b lot of sugar&#8221; in it and\u2064 another it was &#8220;good to see&#8221; \u200bthem.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t\u200d even noticed that,&#8221; the Oskaloosa\u2063 assistant said at the town&#8217;s\u200b Smokey Row Coffee. &#8220;The whole pandemic is really what caught my eye.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>John Bandsta, 67, and Leanne Hessing, 66, who were \u200cat the\u2062 meet-and-greet as well, voiced their confidence that DeSantis \u200ccould, in Bandsta&#8217;s words,\u200b &#8220;get our country\u2062 back\u200c on\u200d track.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2064 need somebody new with some new ideas, and I\u2064 like what DeSantis has done in Florida,&#8221; Hessing, a Pella home school teacher, said. &#8220;He \u200bhas\u2063 proven that he can change things for the\u2064 better.\u200c Being president would \u200cbe a much bigger job to do\u2062 that, but I know he&#8217;s going to \u2063definitely try\u200c to make the change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bandsta, an Oskaloosa\u200b farmer, additionally\u2062 attributed DeSantis&#8217;s inability to \u200bbreak through to Trump, whom he describes as \u2063&#8221;overshadowing&#8221; the \u2063primary as the media simultaneously \u2063homes in \u2062on the governor after \u200creporting on the former\u2064 president for eight years.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;If Trump was not there, \u200dI\u2062 think that \u2063DeSantis would do well,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot \u200bof people that have not given up anything on Trump. Trump is their man, \u2062no matter what, and they&#8217;re not willing to look at\u200b other candidates.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bryan Person, 50, who\u200c is likely to caucus\u200c for Trump again, acknowledged the \u2063challenge with which DeSantis\u2063 must \u2062contend to\u2064 persuade \u200csupporters of the \u2062former president to\u2064 back him instead because people\u2064 have &#8220;mostly made up their \u200dminds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all based off\u2064 of\u2062 what he&#8217;s done. Nothing he says now will matter,&#8221; the Adel \u200dtechnology \u200drepresentative said of DeSantis.\u200d &#8220;Both with him or Trump, it\u200b doesn&#8217;t matter. He can&#8217;t say any more. Well, to me, it doesn&#8217;t mean anything.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>DeSantis&#8217;s policies and fundraising challenges<\/h3>\n<p>Trump averages 54% support in early national primary polls to DeSantis&#8217;s 18%, according to RealClearPolitics. Although the former president has \u200ca 36 percentage point advantage over\u2064 the\u200d governor, the pair&#8217;s closest rival, biotechnology\u200c entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, has\u2062 5%.<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis announced his \u201cDeclaration of \u2063Economic Independence\u201d policy in Rochester, New Hampshire, \u200bon Monday, \u2064a \u200d10-point plan that he is adamant will counter\u2064 the\u2063 &#8220;decline of \u2063our nation\u2019s \u200cstruggling economy&#8221;\u2064 and advocate the middle class by taking \u200con &#8220;the \u2063elites, D.C. bureaucrats, and Communist China.&#8221; Two weeks\u2062 ago, the governor released his &#8220;Mission \u200dFirst&#8221; \u200dmilitary position.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You better ask\u2062 an on-topic question because I&#8217;m not answering\u200b anything that\u2019s not \u200babout the economy,&#8221; he told reporters\u2063 afterward.<\/p>\n<p>As of last\u2064 week, DeSantis let go of about 40% of his original staff,\u2062 and while campaign \u2063manager Generra \u200dPeck was retained, digital \u200cdirector Ethan Eilon was promoted\u2062 to be \u200cher deputy. Though the governor\u200b raised $20.1 million during\u2064 the\u2062 second quarter of this year, about two-thirds came from \u200bdonors who cannot contribute\u200c any\u2063 more money, and\u200d $3 million can\u2062 only \u200dbe used during a general election. He has already\u200b spent $7.9 million.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/iowa-republicans-desantis-policies-not-personality\">CLICK \u200cHERE TO READ MORE \u200cFROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iowa Republicans say Gov. Ron DeSantis&#8217;s policies, not his personality, are hindering his connection with voters. DeSantis is now prioritizing policy, evident in his recent economic address in New Hampshire, as he tries to regain momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1987479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1987478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1987478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1987479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1987478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1987478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1987478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}