Sputtering nationally, Tim Scott shifts resources to go 'all in' on Iowa Caucuses
As his campaign sputters nationally, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott is aggressively shifting resources into Iowa this week — doubling campaign staff and pledging to go “all in” on campaigning in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
According to his campaign, Scott will employ staff numbers “in the double digits” by the end of the week, with more to come, and he will open a West Des Moines headquarters.
The campaign will also shift planned television ad buys from New Hampshire into Iowa.
And, beginning after the Nov. 8 GOP presidential debate in Miami, Scott will plan to campaign in Iowa every week until the Jan. 15 caucuses.
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“Tim Scott is all in on Iowa,” his campaign manager, Jennifer DeCasper, said in a statement. “As the candidate with the highest net favorables, Tim Scott is best positioned to compete on Caucus Day. No candidate other than Tim Scott has the resources, the foundation of support and the message to be successful in the Hawkeye State. We’re all in on Iowa as an important first step on the road to winning the nomination.”
The news of Scott’s Iowa shift comes amid concerning signs for his campaign.
Scott has not yet qualified to appear on the November debate stage, according to tracking by Politico. Though he has a sizeable war chest, his campaign is spending far more than it's currently taking in. And his allied super PAC recently announced it would cancel most of the remaining $40 million in fall TV ad spending it had reserved on Scott’s behalf ahead of the caucuses.
In a memo to donors, PAC officials said, “we aren’t going to waste our money when the electorate isn’t focused or ready for a Trump alternative.”
The Scott campaign said its planned shift predates the PAC memo.
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His "all-in" strategy also comes as other candidates are doubling down on the state as the caucus cycle enters its final months and polling remains stubbornly steady.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign announced it would shift a third of his campaign staff into the state over the coming weeks.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has added experienced Iowa hands to her team and opened a Clive headquarters.
And former President Donald Trump is dramatically ramping up his campaign calendar.
All of them are banking on caucus history that shows candidates surging in the final months and weeks of the campaign cycle.
Five of the past six winners of the Iowa Caucuses didn’t lead a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll until November or later (Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and Pete Buttigieg) or never led one (Rick Santorum).
The only exception was Hillary Clinton, who consistently led the Iowa Poll throughout 2015 and early 2016, but with a shrinking margin. She ultimately won the caucuses by just a fraction of a percentage point over Bernie Sanders.
But Trump's margin is historically large, and his campaign has said they expect to win.
Tim Scott will focus on courting Iowa evangelicals to boost support in final months of caucus campaign
According to an August Des Moines Register/NBC News Iowa Poll, Scott had a higher net favorability rating than any other candidate in the field with 59% of likely Republican caucusgoers saying they had a favorable view of him. Another 17% said they had an unfavorable view.
That poll showed him in third place with 9% of the vote.
But a Real Clear Politics rolling average of more recent Iowa polling shows him in fifth place with 6% — behind Trump (50%), DeSantis (17%), Haley (9.5%), and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (6%).
Still, that’s better than Scott is doing nationally, where he is the first-choice candidate among just 2%.
According to his campaign, Scott hopes to use the shift in resources to help tap into the support of evangelical Christians, who make up a sizeable share of the Iowa caucusgoing electorate, to help close the gap.
They see Scott, who frequently quotes scripture on the campaign trail and boasts high favorability numbers among evangelicals, as being uniquely positioned to court those voters. Many evangelical leaders have signaled a willingness to abandon Trump but have yet to coalesce around a challenger.
The campaign plans to boost paid media efforts around socially conservative issues, it said.
So far, Scott’s travel schedule has reflected a strategy that includes Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has held 43 public, announced campaign events in Iowa — far fewer than the 80 events entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has held or the 64 hosted by former Vice President Mike Pence.
But the new strategy would put him in the state far more frequently.
Scott is currently in the midst of a five-day bus tour of Iowa, with planned stops in Iowa City, Maquoketa, Cedar Falls, Marshalltown, Indianola, Creston and Griswold. He plans to return next week for a series of events.
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Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tim Scott sees opening with Iowa evangelicals, goes 'all in' on caucuses
