AFP – At his snow-covered farm in Iowa in the United States, Lance Lillibridge holds a newborn calf in his arms. The animal’s name? DeSantis, in honour of his chosen presidential candidate.
On Monday, when the Midwestern state kicks off the 2024 White House nomination race with its caucuses, Lillibridge said he will choose Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over frontrunner and former president Donald Trump.
The 53-year-old farmer – who lives not far from the town of Vinton, about 48 kilometres northwest of the city of Cedar Rapids – said he backed Trump in the last two elections, but will not cast his vote for him a third time.
“We feel like he kind of left us out,” Lillibridge said of the 77-year-old billionaire, as he stares at his giant corn-filled silos.
He was referring to Trump’s trade war with China, which meant smaller export markets for American farmers, and the Republican’s inconsistent backing of corn-based ethanol, which is primarily produced in the Midwest.
As for the 45-year-old DeSantis, who has been running a distant second to Trump in Iowa polls, Lillibridge said he is “real solid in agriculture” and “supports the biofuel industry”.
“I feel pretty strongly that he’s the right guy for the job,” said the farmer, who also produces soybeans and raises cattle.
Lillibridge is the leader of Farmers for DeSantis, and has made it his mission to call some 2,000 farmers he knows to try to win their support for the Florida governor.
His main talking point is how he believes DeSantis will defend American agriculture.
He dismisses criticism that DeSantis lacks charisma, recalling that the candidate called him over the summer after he was in a motorcycle accident, “just to see how I was doing”.
“Anybody who says that Ron DeSantis is not personable enough, I will argue with them all day long,” he told AFP.
In Davenport, a two-hour drive from Vinton, Robb Ewoldt recalls how 2017, 2018 and 2019 were “the worst years” for farmers because of Trump’s trade war with China.
After traveling down the Mississippi River, most of Ewoldt’s corn and soybean crop is exported to Asia or Europe.
“We lost a lot of money,” said the 51-year-old Ewoldt, who also voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020.
This time around, he said he believes DeSantis is a kindred spirit.
“I think Governor DeSantis shares a lot of values that I have,” Ewoldt said, making note of how the candidate kept schools and businesses open in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also said he believes the polls – that show Trump with more than 50 per cent support among expected voters in Iowa, and DeSantis hovering at around 15 per cent – are inaccurate.
“I know a lot of conservatives. And I can’t come up with five out of 10 that are going to vote for Trump,” he said.
The answer will come on Monday night, when Iowa voters head to schools, libraries and fire stations to cast their ballots for their preferred candidate.
Will Ewoldt support Trump if he ultimately earns the Republican presidential nomination? He breathes deeply.
“Whoever becomes that nominee, I will support,” he replied, adding: “We have an expression that maybe we have to go to the polls and hold our nose.”
