Nathan and Olivia Becker of Beaverton, Oregon, made it to Iowa just in time to attend Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ final event on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, where he rallied supporters crowded into a packed event space in Ankeny.
The Oregon GOP primary isn’t until May 21, but the Beckers wanted to do what they could to boost support for the Florida governor ahead of the first nominating contest. So late last week, the couple and their two kids – ages three and eight months – traveled from their home outside Portland to Des Moines to volunteer for DeSantis ahead of caucus day.
Nathan, 37, said he’d been following DeSantis since he was first elected governor in 2018 and thought he was the most qualified candidate. He said he’s never voted for former President Donald Trump, whose behavior he finds “despicable.”
“It’s just been really not something that we want to see or condone in any way,” he said. The couple said they hoped to avoid a rematch between President Joe Biden and Trump.
It was not an easy trip. The journey, complicated by winter weather, resembled the plot of the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” Nathan said. They spent a night in Denver with a relative after the second leg of their trip, to Des Moines, was canceled, then flew to Kansas City and drove three hours. Their luggage, with most of their winter clothing, went missing. After the Ankeny event they planned to head to Target.
But it was all worth it to help DeSantis, they said.
“Nathan is viewing it as an investment,” Olivia said. “Hopefully, if DeSantis wins, interest rates will go down and we can buy a bigger house. And some school choice would be nice.”
“We just feel his policies will result in a more prosperous America,” he added.
Nathan said he would spend caucus day phone banking and doing whatever else the campaign needed. In the evening, he planned to drive his sister, who is eight and a half months pregnant, to her caucus site near Waterloo, Iowa.
Asked about polling showing DeSantis fighting for a distant second place against Trump, Nathan said he was optimistic based on what he was hearing from people on the ground, the unpredictability of the turnout and what he knew about the strength of the campaign’s ground game. Olivia said that DeSantis winning would send an important message that Trump’s nomination isn’t inevitable.
“We are hopeful,” she said. “I have not voted for a president since 2008, but I would vote for Ron DeSantis.”
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