Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott’s multiday bus tour this week signaled a new campaign strategy: to step up his ground game in the Hawkeye State.
But only time will tell whether the effort will pay off with Iowa caucusgoers.
Scott, who has not qualified to appear on the Nov. 8 GOP presidential debate stage in Miami, has seen his national campaign sputter. His polling has remained in the single digits amid mounting pressure to differentiate himself from frontrunner former President Donald Trump and other candidates.
More recently, his allied super PAC recently announced it would cancel most of the remaining $40 million in fall TV ad spending it had reserved on Scott’s behalf ahead of the caucuses.
In an attempt to regain footing, Scott’s team this week announced an aggressive campaign shift to Iowa with plans to double staff, establish a West Des Moines headquarters and campaign weekly in the first-in-the-nation state after the November presidential debate.
Scott’s revival trip came in the form of a five-day “Good News Bus Tour,” which included seven stops across the state, starting with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks Triple MMM Tailgate fundraiser Friday. On Saturday, he held a meet-and-greet in Maquoketa and joined Sen. Chuck Grassley for more tailgating outside a University of Northern Iowa football game.
At the City Limits restaurant in Maquoketa, Scott focused heavily on the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, and the need for America to support Israel. Echoing criticisms he’s made since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, he criticized the Biden administration’s response and said a funding bill proposed by the president should be rejected for including more military aid for Ukraine than for Israel.
In addition to foreign policy, attendees also had questions about the federal budget, drug prices and other domestic issues. Afterward, Maquoketa residents Jo Martin, 79, and her husband, Ray, 81, said they were impressed by Scott’s talk but…
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