“Trump leads GOP race, focuses on Biden, employing incumbent-like strategy in primaries.”
Τhree of the leading contenders vying for the 2024 GOP nomination, challenging former President Donald Trump, are scheduled to participate in a candidate forum in heavily Republican northwest Iowa alongside conservative Rep. Randy Feenstra. However, notably absent from this event is Trump himself, who remains the dominant frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Instead, he’ll be in New York City headlining the New York Young Republican’s annual gala, reinforcing his strategy of keeping the focus on President Biden rather than engaging extensively with his nomination rivals during the primary process.
The shift in Trump’s approach represents a stark contrast from a year ago when his 2024 campaign received lukewarm responses, with many fellow Republicans attributing the party’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections to him. Presently, Trump enjoys substantial double-digit leads in recent opinion polls in pivotal early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire over other major contenders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador Nikki Haley, ex-Gov. Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Despite facing four indictments, which include charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, Trump’s support among Republican voters remains steadfast and robust. At recent debates, even though Christie attempted to challenge Trump, his criticism failed to resonate with other contenders like DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy, who mostly refrained from directly confronting the former president.
Trump’s campaign appears to adopt a strategy akin to that of an incumbent, choosing not to engage extensively with fellow Republican candidates and keeping the focus on the forthcoming general election against Biden. However, the campaign is intensifying efforts in the primary process, gearing up for the Iowa caucuses in January with an aggressive operation involving numerous surrogates and a substantial ground game.
The campaign’s emphasis remains on avoiding complacency and ensuring a strong presence in crucial early voting states, deploying an extensive network of precinct captains in Iowa and assembling a significant grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote team in New Hampshire. Despite not engaging directly with his rivals in campaign ads, Trump’s team is actively preparing for the primaries, acknowledging that their sole concern is avoiding any sense of complacency as the caucuses draw nearer.
