DES MOINES, Iowa—Mike likes Iowa.
“Iowa feels more like Indiana more than any other state in the nation,” he told a couple here Wednesday at a hotel where he met with Moms for Liberty and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
Pence aides have told me time and time again that Iowa will be crucial to any successful bid from the Hoosier. “The path starts in Iowa,” a senior adviser told me last month. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist — even a political reporter like you can figure that out: That’s the path.”
But does Iowa like Mike back? In the wake of Ron DeSantis’ Twitter meltdown, Pence sought to capitalize on having much of the Des Moines media market to himself.
Pence sat with the Des Moines Register editorial board for a story leading their homepage and the largest local television station. He recorded an interview with Bob Vander Plaats, the powerbroker and president and CEO of The Family Leader, an influential conservative Christian organization. That’s not to mention an Omaha affiliate that bleeds into an Iowa market. The former conservative talk show host himself even hit the studio of the largest conservative talk radio show in the state.
There were no glitches with the interview.
There was more: “Whatever the future holds for the Pence family, and whether you're seeing a lot more of me in Iowa or not, we're gonna stay in the right, stay in the fight, for parental rights,” Pence said in Des Moines, nodding to his looming decision on 2024.
There is more Pence news to come. CNN will host a town hall with Pence on Wednesday, June 7, at 9 p.m. at Grand View University in Des Moines.
Meanwhile, fellow native Hoosier and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig went to Iowa Thursday, making stops in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque to talk about Biden infrastructure wins.
He also sounded off on red states passing anti-LGBTQ laws.
IMPORTANTVILLE READS
Pence: Hiking Social Security retirement age 'should be on the table', by Stephen Gruber-Miller in the Des Moines Register
Mike Pence says Donald Trump and Joe Biden are wrong not to even discuss Social Security, Medicaid reform.
“AG Rokita's prosecution of abortion doctor Caitlin Bernard gets medical board hearing,” by Johnny Magdaleno and Tony Cool in the Indy Star
Two of the board's seven members, all of whom are appointed by the governor, have given in total more than $25,000 to Rokita's campaigns. The lion's share came from Bharat H. Barai, a Merrillville physician who has contributed $24,800 to Rokita during his various runs for state office and Congress across a span of 17 years, including his successful bid for state attorney general in 2020.