Lesser known GOP candidates hope Iowa caucuses will launch them to presidential nomination

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — If you’re a political unknown running trying to secure your party’s nomination for president, having experience as a state governor isn’t a bad place to start.

Since 1976, six governors have done so, with four of them — Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush — going all the way to the White House.

Another good place to start is Iowa, which kicks off the 2024 Republican voting cycle with the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses. At least that’s what North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson think with their underdog campaigns.

As Burgum told a big crowd of Iowa Republicans in Cedar Rapids: “You’re screening candidates for the most important job in the world. And you’re here, you’re paying attention.”

Hutchinson told them that he knows it’s an uphill battle and even joked that when he walked into an Iowa restaurant and told a diner that he was running for president, she sarcastically responded, “Sure, and I’m running for vice president.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum touts small-town values

Burgum is in his second term leading one America’s least populated states, but he argues that his personal story and background are assets.

“When someone tells me that you can’t be from a small town and run for president," he said, "it’s like jumping on my start button because absolutely D.C. needs more small-town values.”

He notes that he lost his father when he was in high school and his mother had to go back to work to support her three kids.

“If you’re a working mom out there, I understand what you’re going through," Burgum said. "We’ll be fighting for you too because I saw what she had to do.”

Burgum founded a software company that he eventually sold in 2001 to Microsoft for $1 billion.

“Technology is changing every job, every company, every industry. It has not changed government,” he tells GOP voters, adding that his tech experience will enable him to cut up to 20% of the federal budget. “I know how to do that.”

Regarding Donald Trump, Burgum said, “I think the biggest difference is we’re actually talking about the future and we’re talking about where Biden is failing.”

He asserts that he can get the economy moving by cutting federal red tape, can achieve energy independence by creatively harnessing carbon capture techniques and ending what he calls the “attack on biofuels, ethanol, oil and gas in this country,” and can secure the southern border (“dereliction of duty” by Biden, he says) and thus reduce the fentanyl overdose deaths in the country.

“I understand all three of these issues," Burgum said. "We’ll get them fixed.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson points to experience

Asa Hutchinson, who finished his eight years as Arkansas’ governor in January, has a long political resume. He tells the crowd in Cedar Rapids, “I’m the only candidate that has been a governor, a United States attorney and the head of the DEA.”

He doesn’t mention that he also was a U.S. congressman for four years and undersecretary for border issues for President George W. Bush.

While Hutchinson talks to the crowd in Cedar Rapids about what he calls “Biden’s failed policies” in energy, the economy and national security, it’s the rule of law that he comes back to over and over, saying the word “law” 16 times in his 10-minute speech.

“There are some simple principles in life,” Hutchinson said. “When you look at border security, enforce the law. When you look at violence in our cities today, enforce the law. And I bring that perspective.”

He argues that President Biden has “diminished respect for the rule of law in this country” and wants to take illegal drugs out of the jurisdiction of the FBI and place it instead with the DEA.

“We would shrink their responsibilities and hold them accountable," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson offers a non-Trump alternative to Iowa caucusgoers, but he differs with Burgum — who won’t criticize Trump directly — in how openly he calls Trump out, something that has gotten him boos and catcalls from Trump supporters at some appearances.

After one of Trump’s indictments, Hutchinson said: “Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 should disqualify him from ever being president again. Anyone who truly loves this country and is willing to put the country over themselves would suspend their campaign immediately.”

And at the first GOP presidential debate, which Trump skipped, Hutchinson pointedly was the only candidate to not raise their hand when asked if they’d support Trump as nominee if he was convicted of a crime.

For lesser known candidates, Iowa offers chance for surprise showing

Burgum's and Hutchinson’s only realistic paths to the presidency have to start with a surprise strong showing in Iowa. That possibility is predicated on two main factors: that GOP caucusgoers meet the candidates personally and that in doing so, they’re won over by the candidates' experience and message.

Hutchinson isn’t shy about flattering Iowans during this quest, telling them: “If you want hope and optimism about America, let me tell you where you should go: Iowa. When you look at Iowa, you love America.”

As for Burgum, he says that he’s got a “great story to tell” and that his strategy is to “make sure that people get a chance to know who we are. We’re not trying to be anything; we’re just being authentic.”

For him — and this applies to Hutchinson as well — it’s simple: “We’re just making our way around the state talking to people about the issues.”

Bob Beatty holds a doctorate in political science from Arizona State University and specializes in Kansas and national elections, with a special expertise on the Iowa Caucus and campaigning for president. He has attended and covered the national political party conventions in 2008 and 2016 and 15 presidential debates from 1996-2020.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Lesser known GOP candidates hope Iowa caucuses will lift their chances