GOP candidates hit the campaign trail in the final stretch before Iowa

Ramaswamy and Haley return to the campaign trail after holiday break

Campaign activity from the 2024 Republican presidential field is set to pick back up again Tuesday after a brief holiday respite.

Ramaswamy is returning to his torrid pace, with six events scheduled throughout eastern Iowa on Tuesday. His campaign says he will hit the “Double Grassley” mark today, meaning he will have visited all 99 of Iowa’s counties twice. (Longtime U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley famously travels to each Iowa county every year.)

Meanwhile, Haley will hold a rally in Rye, New Hampshire, this evening. The former U.N. ambassador has been gaining on Trump in polls in the state, which votes after Iowa, on Jan. 23.

Republicans spent $100 million on ads in Iowa in 2023

Republican presidential candidates and outside groups have blanketed the Iowa airwaves ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, spending nearly $105 million on ads there in 2023. 

And that figure is set to grow by at least another $7.5 million before the Jan. 15 caucuses, according to upcoming ad reservations tracked by the firm AdImpact. It’s being driven by Haley’s late push for a strong finish in Iowa, after Trump and Ron DeSantis spent most of 2023 polling first and second there.

SFA Fund Inc, a super PAC supporting Haley, has emerged as the top advertiser in Iowa, spending $25 million in 2023, per AdImpact. The super PAC also has the most ad money laid down for the last two weeks: nearly $3.3 million. 

Read more on the Iowa ad warshere.

A quiet New Year’s Day on the trail

DeSantis made the only public appearance by a 2024 presidential candidate yesterday afternoon. He mingled and took selfies with patrons at a sports bar in Waukee, Iowa, during the Citrus Bowl game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Tennessee Volunteers.

Alec Hernandez contributed