Trump schedules rallies in Iowa, Georgia

Former President Trump will barnstorm Iowa and Georgia in the coming weeks as he looks to maintain his tight grip on the GOP base.

Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America, announced Tuesday evening that the former president will appear in Perry, Ga., on Sept. 25 and then in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 9.

The rallies come as speculation mounts over Trump’s political future. The former president has flirted with a third White House bid in 2024 but has kept voters in suspense by not saying definitively if he’ll launch a comeback campaign.

Rallies are just one tool that Trump has used to keep his name front and center in GOP voters’ minds, along with doling out endorsements to candidates in midterm battles and railing against unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential race. Those efforts have paid off thus far, with most polls showing he’d handily win a 2024 GOP presidential primary.

Iowa and Georgia both play key roles in Trump’s political future.

They are key swing states, with Iowa serving as the first nominating state in the presidential cycle and Georgia emerging as the epicenter of Trump’s election fraud allegations.

The former president won Iowa by about 8 points in 2020 but narrowly lost Georgia.

As Trump has flirted with another White House bid, others have suggested more openly they are considering a run, though none have definitively confirmed plans to run against the former president.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and more have traveled to Iowa and other swing states.

Other potential candidates include Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R).