Republican presidential candidates have crisscrossed Iowa leading up to Monday’s caucuses — but they’ve focused their time and energy on different parts of the state.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has spent the bulk of her time in Des Moines and the cities in eastern Iowa. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a number of stops in the same areas but also spent more time in Republican-heavy northwest Iowa. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has been everywhere, and he’s been there a lot.
And then there’s former President Donald Trump, who has had by far the lightest in-person footprint across Iowa before the caucuses, as he maintains a strong lead in public polls.
NBC News tracked all of the candidates’ publicly announced, publicly attended events since Nov. 15. Overall, Trump held 13 Iowa events in that time, Haley held 38, DeSantis held 76 and Ramaswamy held 238, according to NBC News’ count, which does not include virtual events some of the candidates held due to recent bad weather.
The campaigns are also airing TV ads, making phone calls and sending mail to Republicans all across the state. But the places where they spent the most (and least) time could provide important context for where the candidates are over- or under-performing Monday night.
