A Major Republican Donor in Iowa Says He's Decided to Back Trump

Hadriana Lowenkron, Nancy Cook and Margaret Collins
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Bruce Rastetter, a major Iowa Republican donor, predicted a resounding Iowa caucus victory for Donald Trump, saying the agriculturally-heavy state maintains nostalgia for the former president’s tenure in the White House.

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At a Des Moines, Iowa, roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News on Saturday morning, Rastetter said that after much deliberation he’s decided that he will again support Trump for president. Iowa kicks off the official start to the 2024 Republican presidential nominating process with its Jan. 15 caucus.

“I get back to the guy that’s done it before, rather than the guy that says ‘I’m going to be just like Donald Trump,’” Rastetter, the founder and executive chairman of Summit Agricultural Group, said Saturday. “You look around at the issues on inflation, the border, our status in the world. Everyone can see that we didn’t have problems when Donald Trump was president.”

Polling shows Trump with a more than 30-percentage point lead ahead of Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who are battling for second place. Still, the Republican frontrunner’s team has tempered expectations in recent days as winter storms and subzero temperatures threaten caucus turnout Monday.

Rastetter, an Iowa native whose company specializes in farming and biofuels, backed Trump in 2020, but initially supported ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie back in the 2016 Republican presidential nominating process. He advised Trump on agriculture issues during his White House transition after he won the 2016 election.

Trump’s tenure in the White House was marked by a tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing that put US farmers, largely from Iowa, in the crosshairs. Trump doled out some $28 billion to farmers to soften the blow and he also approved the year-round sale of higher blends of corn-based ethanol.

Rastetter cautioned against cutting off all trade with China, saying that would harm Iowa farmers who have spent years building relationships with buyers in Asian markets. He also called Trump’s tariff policies “complicated,” because it creates winners and losers.

Since 2011, Rastetter has made political donations totaling $1.7 million, according to OpenSecrets. The largest share, about $805,000, went to Iowa candidates, including $139,000 to Governor Kim Reynolds. He also financially backed Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential bids.

--With assistance from Bill Allison and Jennifer Jacobs.

(changes headline, updates with more on Rastetter in third and fifth paragraphs)

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