Former President Trump is slated to headline a rally in Iowa on the same day that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is set to attend fundraising events in the state, as the feud between the two men heats up.
Trump will star at a rally next month at a park in Des Moines, according to The Associated Press, which cited a Trump campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official said the event had been in the planning stages for weeks.
It comes as DeSantis, who has kept an intense travel schedule in the last few weeks as he nears a possible 2024 White House bid, was already scheduled to appear in the state at a number of fundraising events.
DeSantis, who is seen as the main rival to Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024, is set to marquee Rep. Randy Feenstra’s (R-Iowa) annual fundraiser and then speak at a GOP fundraiser in Cedar Rapids later the same day.
DeSantis has spent time in Iowa and other key nominating states in the Republican primary process as he nears a decision on a presidential campaign. He spent last week on a visit to Israel, a trip that could have been to bolster his foreign policy chops ahead of the primary process.
Polling suggests the former president, who has already launched his third White House campaign, is the frontrunner to get the GOP nod in 2024, but DeSantis, once a political ally of Trump, could be a formidable opponent.
Trump posted his largest lead over DeSantis yet in last week’s Morning Consult survey among possible Republican primary voters, with the former president boasting 58 percent support and DeSantis coming in second with 21 percent. DeSantis polled closer to former Vice President Mike Pence, who is mulling a 2024 White House campaign and got 7 percent in the survey, than he did to Trump.
That survey included 3,640 potential Republican primary voters and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.