Republican presidential candidates converge in Iowa

Nearly all of the GOP’s presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump, appeared over the weekend at the annual Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner. Trump is leading in the polls among Republican voters but has avoided events that would put him in the lineup with other candidates. His top competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been aggressively campaigning in Iowa.

What did the Lincoln Dinner entail? More than 1,000 guests attended the event, and each candidate had a chance to speak to the audience. During his speech, Trump again said the 2020 election was rigged. And he suggested that other candidates now running for president should drop out of the race. Iowa’s caucuses will be some of the earliest and most influential in deciding the nominees for both parties for the 2024 presidential election.

Dig deeper: Read a report from students at World Journalism Institute about campaign events in Iowa with DeSantis and Tim Scott.