Two new hires by former President Donald Trump are driving speculation that he is gearing up to launch another presidential campaign in 2024.
The Des Moines Register reported Thursday that Trump, through his Save America PAC, has hired Iowa natives and Republican Party operatives Eric Branstad and Alex Latcham as consultants.
Although it is not yet clear what Branstad and Latcham were hired to do, both have an intricate knowledge of state politics.
Save America communications director Taylor Budowich confirmed to the Register that both men are now on the payroll.
Budovich said he “would ‘leave you to your own devices’ to draw any conclusions about the group’s new Iowa hires,” the paper reported.
“Save America’s focus is electing candidates across the country both in the midterms and beyond,” he told the Register. “And that’s what this is about.”
Bloomberg also reported Trump’s PAC had hired Branstad and Latcham as senior advisers. The outlet noted both Iowans already have close ties to Trump.
Latcham served as the Trump campaign’s Iowa political director leading up to the 2016 general election. He then became the White House deputy political director under Trump.
Branstad served as the Trump campaign’s state director in 2016 before working at the Commerce Department as a senior White House adviser. He also served as an adviser in Iowa during the 2020 campaign.
Trump won the state in 2016 and increased his margin of victory in 2020.
He won Iowa with 51.7 percent of the vote compared with Hillary Clinton’s 42.2 percent in 2016, according to NBC News. In November, he took the state with 53.1 percent to 44.9 percent for Joe Biden, according to NBC News.
Former President Barack Obama won Iowa in 2008 and 2012.
While an important swing state, Iowa’s early primaries are also crucial for both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
In the 2012 Iowa caucuses, eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney came in second behind former Sen. Rick Santorum by only 34 votes, according to The New York Times.
Presidential campaigns generally prove themselves to be in it for the long haul once they pass the state’s caucuses. Iowa can be make-or-break for candidates as the first votes are cast.
Trump in 2016 finished a close second in Iowa behind Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
He went on to secure the GOP nomination by late spring of that year.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.