By Maria Curi
Iowa Republican leaders have spoken out about what GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump needs to focus on to secure the tossup state. Their suggestions include clearly articulating his immigration stance so that the media do not manipulate his words, emphasizing his support for policies that affect Iowans, such as the renewable-fuel standard, and going on the attack mode by iterating Hillary Clinton’s recent scandal.
Trump performing well in Iowa represents more to Iowa Republicans than just the six electoral votes Trump would gain.
A substantial number of Iowa Democrats are blue-collar whites who could cross over to Trump and subsequently vote for down-ballot Republicans, too.
Real Clear Politics took four polls conducted between Aug. 3 and Aug. 19 by CBS/YouGov, Quinnipiac, Suffolk University, and NBC/WSJ/Marist and averaged the findings, resulting in a 1.5-point lead in Iowa for the Clinton campaign.
The tight race gives Trump a real shot at victory in Iowa, which could be why his campaign has made five stops in the Hawkeye State in the last three weeks.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Aug. 27, Gov. Terry Branstad said Trump should focus on the importance of restoring what he described as a robust renewable-fuel standard that requires corn-based ethanol be mixed with gasoline.
Iowa is the nation’s top producer of corn, and ensuring the continuation of the renewable-fuel standard, which is set to expire in 2022, resonates with Iowa voters.
Forty-seven percent of the corn produced in Iowa is turned into ethanol and the renewable-fuel industry, which also includes biodiesel, supports around 43,000 jobs and accounts for $4.6 billion of Iowa’s gross domestic product.
Branstad also said Trump should highlight his opposition to the Waters of the United States rule adopted by the Obama administration.
The rule granted the Environmental Protection Agency authority to expand the definition of waters to include headwaters that have a connection to downstream waters including a bed, bank, and ordinary high-water marks.
While the Obama administration contends that the rule is designed to prevent pollutants from entering clean water supplies, congressional Republicans, led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, claim it’s a regulatory overreach of private land by the government and unelected bureaucrats.
Mark Lundberg, the Sioux County Republican Committee chairman, said Trump’s policy proposals are solid but that “he comes into trouble when it comes to his personality.”
“The press encourages quick, non-thoughtful commentary, and Mr. Trump at times is a bit impulsive when it comes to his responses,” Lundberg said.
Trump has also faced recent criticism over what some perceive as a softening of his hard-line immigration stances, which have been a major pillar of his message thus far.
On Aug. 23, in a town hall hosted by Sean Hannity of Fox News, Hannity asked Trump if he would change the current law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the United States, to which Trump responded, “There could certainly be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people.”
At the town hall, Trump also said, “So you have somebody who’s been in the country for 20 years, has done a great job and everything else,” then asked the audience, “Do we take him and the family and her and him or whatever and send him out?”
Two days later, during an interview with CNN, Anderson Cooper asked Trump if law-abiding immigrants would have a path to legalization, not citizenship.
Trump responded, “There is no path to legalization unless you leave the country. When they come back in, if they come back in, then they can start paying taxes, but there is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back.”
Trump’s unclear position has led to headlines claiming he had walked back from his earlier positions on immigration.
Gary Nystrom, the chairman of the Boone County Republican Central Committee, pointed to those types of descriptions as examples of unfair treatment.
“He needs to learn to get his point across clearly so that the media do not misconstrue his statements,” Nystrom said. “He never said he wants to ship everyone away, he just wants to get rid of the troublemakers because it costs our government money, and they take jobs away from hard-working Iowans.”
Fred Grunder, the chairman of the Muscatine County Republican Central Committee, said that by refining his position and making the path to citizenship easier, Trump could win Latino voters and prevent media misinterpretation.
Mitch Henry, the vice chairman of the Iowa Asian-Latino Coalition, said Trump refining his position won’t help his favorability among Latino voters enough to make a difference.
“When you call Mexican-Americans rapists, murderers, and drug dealers, people remember that,” Henry said.
According to a Gallup Poll conducted between June 7 and July 1, 13 percent of Latino immigrants view Trump as favorable while 29 percent of U.S.-born Latinos view Trump as favorable.
Grunder said that Trump could appeal to documented and U.S.-born Latinos by appealing to their Catholicism and conservatism.
“If you came here from Mexico and you’re here legally, then I don’t think you’re against Trump or at least not on his immigration stance,” Grunder said. “It could be for other reasons. A good share of the Hispanic population is family-oriented and Catholic and may not agree on his stance on abortion.”
Henry, who is also a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, a nonpartisan organization with the mission to show the Latino vote matters, said appealing to conservatism would not help, either.
“At [the group], we have members from all parties, with people who showed support for candidates like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush who were conservative but still offered a comprehensive immigration plan, which is what we want, while Trump is just offering to build a big wall,” Henry said.
But some Iowans, such as Sandi Winton of Glenwood, are in favor of Trump’s candid commentary.
“He’s not a slick polished politician; if he was slick, he would be listening to more of Hillary; they know exactly what to say, that’s what I like about him, he’s not smooth around the edges, he’s just a normal guy,” Winton said.
Another suggestion Grunder had for Trump was to go on the attack mode against Clinton.
“Focus on Benghazi and her emails,” he said. “People are just going to look at it and not want a convicted felon as a president.”
Others, like Andy Hill of Manly, Iowa, are wary of attack-driven campaigns.
“Washington is so polarized that politicians don’t know their counterparts personally,” he said. “I think we got things done when we were able to sit down, relax, and have a conversation — not just throw hand grenades from the other side of the aisle.”