How Donald Trump's 2024 campaign quietly built a grassroots juggernaut for the Iowa Caucuses

URBANDALE, Iowa — As he wrapped up an intimate gathering of Donald Trump loyalists at the campaign's state headquarters in early December, senior adviser Alex Meyer let the crowd in on some "insider information."

Any volunteer "caucus captain" who persuades 10 or more Iowans to support the former president on Caucus Day, and they all show up, will be invited "to a special, small event with President Trump at the Republican National Convention," Meyer said.

"For every single Trump caucus captain in this room, you are a member of this campaign," Meyer told the group, gathered in the small office plastered wall to wall with signs and memorabilia. "What you are doing is a part of this campaign."

Even as he wages an unprecedented primary battle as a former incumbent facing 91 criminal charges, Trump remains the Republican front-runner in Iowa, steadily increasing support in polling over the last year. In the latest Iowa Poll, conducted earlier this month, he leads by 32 percentage points.

He's been far from subtle about his projected results on Caucus Day: a "historic" and "landslide" victory over Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and the rest of his Republican opponents.

"The poll numbers are scary because we're leading by so much. The key is you have to go out and vote," Trump told supporters in Waterloo on Dec. 19. "If we win in a massive number, but it's a little bit less than that, they'll say, 'Oh, he didn't meet expectations.'"

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His campaign team in Iowa has sought to build a grassroots operation that meets those expectations, recruiting what one official called a "field army" of volunteer captains who double as frontline recruiters now and precinct representatives on caucus night.

After coming in second place in 2016 with a scattershot campaign operation and effectively running unopposed in 2020, Trump's revamped Iowa team was tasked with "expanding the electorate" of the caucuses ahead of 2024 — mobilizing passionate supporters and reaching what officials call "low-propensity voters," who need a nudge to show up on caucus night. The aim: bury their opponents in the Hawkeye State.

"President Trump has done more to expand the Republican Party and shift Iowa red than any other official in this state," said Alex Latcham, the campaign's early states director. "Under President Trump and his policies, Iowans were more secure, free and prosperous than any other time."

Trump "inspires and energizes voters like no other," Latcham said, which is why the campaign expects "tens of thousands of Iowans" to show up and caucus for him for the first time.

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Among the sea of ubiquitous red hats worn to rallies for the former president, a new white-and-gold variation of the MAGA hat began to dot the crowds of supporters at recent Iowa events.

The "limited edition" TRUMP CAUCUS CAPTAIN caps, complete with a gold-stitched Iowa state flag on the side, are given only to Iowans who volunteered to serve as a caucus captain — an amped-up volunteer role that the campaign has designated as their front line of support.

More than 2,000 of these captains have been charged with delivering a three-minute speech in support of Trump on caucus night, as well as observing and reporting to the campaign the final vote tally at their precinct. They range from local couples serving as co-captains to county Republican chairs and elected officials such as Attorney General Brenna Bird.

"This campaign has the best organization I've ever seen," Bird told supporters in Coralville in December.

Captains are required to attend a roughly hour-long training session, either in person or virtually. The campaign says it's held roughly 350 of these Iowa sessions by mid-December and plans to have around 500 completed by Caucus Day.

Captains each receive a 20-page handbook outlining their role and responsibilities, and it provides them with a suggested speech to deliver at their precinct. It also includes a checklist for caucus night — reminding captains to bring their photo ID, credentials and campaign literature, cold-weather attire and five to 10 yard signs.

Wendy Robbins, 66, of Coralville is serving as a precinct captain along with her husband, Andy.

"They called me and asked if I'd be willing to do it," Robbins told the Register ahead of Trump's speech in December. "I never really thought about it, and yet, I have no reason not to. I can speak well for him, and I really believe in him."

In addition to the white-and-gold hats, the campaign has sought at events across Iowa to make caucus captains feel like VIPs.

Some had reserved seats toward the front of the room at Trump's recent rallies. Three captains were brought on stage for a panel in which they talked about how they got involved with the campaign. And incentives like the RNC meeting and Trump-signed certificates are designed to get captains to stay committed through Jan. 15.

Yvonne Wessels, 76, is a co-caucus captain in southern Des Moines with her daughter Renee Wessels-Baker. They both signed up as captains as firm supporters of Trump but aren't taking a potential victory for granted.

"I think this one is harder," Wessels said, referring to the 2024 cycle. "With all of the people running against him."

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Trump has spent far less time on the ground in Iowa than his opponents — holding 17 public events here since March, according to the Des Moines Register's candidate tracker — far fewer than DeSantis' stops across 99 counties and Haley's 60-plus total events.

When Trump does fly in, the campaign aims to make it count. At his Iowa rallies, billed as "Commit to Caucus" events held in population centers across the state, the former president's speech is the main affair.

But the operation's real currency comes in the form of supporters' contact info, which they gather when attendees register and bring family and friends along to the event.

Around almost every corner in these convention centers, volunteers mill about crowds or stand behind tables and ask if attendees have signed a card or if they are interested in becoming a caucus captain.

A newly eligible voter from Cedar Falls, 18-year-old Ryan Bennett attended a December rally in Waterloo with a group of friends. They'd hardly made it through security before being approached by a volunteer who asked if they'd signed caucus cards.

"This is my first time ever going to an event like this," said Bennett, who said he was still getting a grip on how the caucus process works. "Currently, it's kind of a learning experience."

The campaign has collected more than 51,000 commit-to-caucus cards as of mid-December.

Beyond the Commit to Caucus events, the campaign's legion of volunteers serve as a vital recruiting corps. Caucus captains are given a list of 25 voters and asked to get 10 to commit to supporting Trump in January — an initiative the campaign calls "Ten for Trump."

Officials have prioritized targeting Iowans who haven't ever attended a caucus but have supported Trump in some way before — having attended a rally, voted for him in the 2016 or 2020 general elections, or donated to his campaign.

"You look at the volume of folks we've had, the precinct trainings, we've had the commit-to-caucus events," state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a senior adviser to the campaign in Iowa, told the Register. "We are truly a data-driven, disciplined campaign that is doing an excellent job of turning out these first-time voters."

The latest Iowa Poll shows Trump expanding his lead with first-time caucusgoers in the state, with 63% saying the former president is their first choice. That's up from 49% support for Trump from first-timers in October. By comparison, DeSantis earned support from 12% of first-timers and Haley 11%.

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First-time caucusgoers differ from the overall likely caucusgoing population in a couple of key ways, the December poll found. A majority of them are age 45 or younger (59%, compared with 42% overall).

They also tend to have lower levels of education — 28% have completed high school or less, and an additional 39% have completed some college or an associate's degree, which combine for 67%. That’s compared to a combined 52% among all likely GOP caucusgoers.

"Traditionally, young people have not been all that plentiful in the Republican caucusgoing public," said respected pollster J. Ann Selzer, who conducts the Iowa Poll. "It suggests that there are some things going on here that make this group of first-timers look a little different from what we have seen in the past."

Among those younger, first-time caucusgoers is Gunnar Neal, a 27-year-old from North Liberty who attended a Trump rally in Coralville. He said Trump's challengers weren't of interest to him — at least not this cycle.

"I think Nikki Haley is kind of a RINO (Republican in name only). DeSantis isn't as bad," Neal said. "If Trump didn't run this time, I would probably vote for DeSantis, but it's just not DeSantis' time yet."

Rachel Walgren, a 19-year-old from Cedar Falls who saw Trump in Waterloo, will be caucusing for the first time, having observed one other caucus when she was younger.

"2024 is going to be ours, with the way Biden is going and everything that's been happening," she said.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How Trump's 2024 campaign built an Iowa Caucuses grassroots juggernaut