Former Trump-supporting Iowans don’t think he stands a chance: report

A recently published New York Times/Siena College poll, according to The Bulwark's Tim Miller, "shows zero evidence of the Republican Party distancing itself from [ex-President Donald] Trump

However, Spectrum News 13 reports the same poll "in Iowa shows candidates other than Trump have room to grow," as "Close to half of potential Republican caucus voters backing Trump say they're open to other candidates, while only about 3 in 10 of those who don't choose Trump say they would consider supporting him."

Spectrum News 13 recently spoke with Iowa State Fair attendees nearly five months ahead of 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, which will take place on January 15, 2024.

Loyalty to Trump runs deep in Iowa, a state he comfortably carried twice and where he is the heavy favorite in early polls for the Republican caucuses. Still, it's apparent from talking to voters that already-complicated assessments of Trump could shift during months of televised debates, relentless advertising and more intense campaigning — never mind court proceedings in the series of criminal indictments he faces from New York to Florida.

"I believe I would still caucus for him," Connie Lamberti, a 70-year-old retired communications administrator from Ankeny said. "I believe it's intentional on his opponents' part."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

Unsure of who he'd like to be the GOP nominee, Des Moine Republican Frank Miller said, "President Trump – he's just got a lot of distractions, and you know his bedside manner's not good. There's a lot of people in this country that think that's more important than the policy. I'm not one of those."

The report notes, "Many are conflicted, yearning to turn the page but not disowning the former president. They like what he did in office and support his policy priorities — and yet they worry that what they view largely as political persecution could hobble him both as the Republican nominee and as president."

Samona Yentes, who heads "Iowa's leading anti-abortion group," said "it's possible that Trump's time has come and gone," but she's confident the MAGA hopeful is "going out and fighting the battle."

Yentes added, "That's the part of me that goes, he's kind of unstoppable."

However, some have already decided Trump is no longer their choice.

"The Republican Party has changed," 37-year-old Abbey Sindt said, noting that she has considered supporting ex-Vice President Mike Pence's campaign. "And there are reasons. It's because Trump has become a distraction, and not a healthy distraction."

Retired maintenance engineer Bob Heckert, who previously supported Trump, said "I don't think he can get elected. There's so much controversy against him, prejudice I guess you might want to say, that I don't think if he did happen to get elected that he could accomplish anything."

Similarly, Bellevue financial advisor Barbara Collins said, "I don't think he represents the values personally that people can get behind. And I think his ship has passed."

Bob Stephany, a Council Bluffs salesman and ex-Trump supporter blasted the former president over the January 6 insurrection.

"Jan. 6 was absolutely horrible," he said, emphasizing that it "stained everything that was positive, and there were lots of positive things in his presidency."