On Tuesday, it was announced that Donald Trump has hired one of the most recognized grassroots operatives in Iowa, Chuck Laudner, to head his Iowa campaign operation.
On Wednesday, The Daily Caller spoke to nationally syndicated radio host and Iowa native Steve Deace about the move, and what it means for the upcoming race.
“Chuck has the two things you need to be successful in Iowa,” said Deace. “You need to win the ground game, and you need to be friendly. Chuck is both of those things. You can’t just drop $10-20 million dollars in Iowa and win”
Some are scratching their heads at Laudner’s choice to join with Trump, as he was said to have offers form other campaigns. When asked why he took the job, Deace replied:
“Obviously no one does this for free. I assume Chuck will be handsomely compensated. That being said, if Trump wasn’t serious, Chuck wouldn’t be on board.”
Deace then speculated about Sen. Ted Cruz’s possible pick for an Iowa Campaign manager.
“If I’m right, I think they will announce it next week. Right away it will be a huge name,” said Deace. He continued:
“This person, who I think they’ll pick, not only has connections in DC, but is one of the smartest guys in Iowa Politics. Having both is very rare. This pick will help Cruz to convince conservatives that have given up on the GOP, that there is still hope.”
When asked if Cruz needed to alter his positions to win, Deace replied, “I think that would be self-immolation. Voters hate people who are insincere. Republicans need a nominee who is not governed by the polls. The reason for the civil war in the GOP is that the base is upset with these cowards, who are backing down to democrats. I think Cruz can bridge that gap.”
Deace also said that if the Iowa caucuses were held today, Ted Cruz would be the winner.
“Cruz would win if it were held today. The majority of activists I know who bring people to the polls are tied to Cruz right now.”
Some right wing personalities in the media, including Mark Levin, have disputed Iowa’s importance in the primary process and have lobbied for other red states to be allowed to vote first. Deace responded to this point by saying:
“I don’t think Iowans believe it’s their job to pick the nominee before the rest of the country does. They just take a look at the field and usually punch the top three on the ticket.”
Deace continued, “I certainly would agree with the notion that a party dominated by southern red states, should let those states have a prominent say before the nominee is selected.”
“Texas for instance,” said Deace “is the largest red state. To not let them have a say early on is just foolish. I will say though, that with a state like Iowa you can’t buy the voters. You can buy states like New Hampshire. But Iowa is good for the system because candidates have to come out from behind their talking points, and be real people.”
Deace is known to have libertarian tendencies. When asked about Rand Paul and his ability to capitalize on the infrastructure left behind by his father Ron, Deace replied:
“Rand will retain some of the voters, but that infrastructure is in decline. The party establishment has routed it in the last year,” said Deace. “I know some prominent libertarian people who actually like Cruz. So Rand will get a majority of those people, but he will struggle to grow that coalition.”
Finally, when asked why libertarian candidates have more success in caucus states than in primary states, Deace said:
“In a primary, you can go vote for who the media tells you is most electable. You can be a low information voter. In a caucus state, it is almost how the founders voted. You have to give an account for who you voted for to other people. That has a tendency to influence how people vote.”