Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is among the Trump administration figures making an emergency campaign swing through Iowa — and the state’s prominence as home to the first-in-the-nation caucuses has some speculating whether he may join other more obvious contenders in a bid for the 2028 GOP nomination.
Hegseth and several others tied to the White House and broader administration are on the ground in Iowa this week as Republicans try to stem the bleeding. Polls show Donald Trump’s approval rating hovering near historic lows, and generic ballot polling has indicated that red-purple states like Iowa may be in play for Democratic candidates this cycle.
The defense secretary appeared alongside vulnerable House Republican Zach Nunn on Monday and made his case for America’s continued involvement in the Iran war — a tough sell for many voters, but one the secretary has to make as the war drags on without an end in sight. Along with Nunn, he’s expected to campaign with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and also appeared alongside Ashley Hinson, the GOP’s candidate for the open Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst.
Miller-Meeks campaigned on Monday with RFK Jr., the health secretary and onetime presidential contender. Prominent political figures can’t usually avoid provoking speculation around potential presidential ambitions when visitng Iowa, and Hegseth was no exception according to the Washington Post.
The Post reported unnamed U.S. officials saying that the trip, for Hegseth, was something of a test run as he considers a 2028 bid.
open image in galleryA spokesperson for the Pentagon told the paper that the secretary was in Iowa campaigning for the GOP candidates in his “personal” capacity. Because he is required by law, the Pentagon spokesperson said, Hegseth’s campaign stint in Iowa is being facilitated by U.S. military aircraft.
Washington Republicans are pouring in to Iowa as races in that state tighten and the possibilities of Democrats making further gains in the House and Senate grow. Four out-of-state House members are in town to campaign for their Iowa colleagues, according to CBS News, as well as an assortment of lesser-known administration officials including U.S. Trade Representative Jameison Greer, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration.
Their descent on the state this week is timed to coincide with the Iowa State Fair, which traditionally draws both statewide political hopefuls and those with dreams of a national political future. The fair is attended by hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, and is one of the most popular events in the region for Iowans and out-of-state tourists every year.
Iowa is one site where the Senate map unexpectedly turned against Republicans in 2028.
The decision of Sen. Joni Ernst to retire rather than face a re-election fight means that Republicans will have a tougher battle ahead of them to keep the seat, drawing more national resources and leaving another opening for Democrats to push towards the majority. Ernst was a formidable candidate; in 2020, when Joe Biden became president, the senator defeated her Democratic challenger by six points. She was also a prolific fundraiser, having pulled in more than $30 million that year.
open image in galleryHinson is running against Josh Turek, a state representative and two-time paralympics gold medalist who is mounting a competitive bid for the seat. Most polling shows the race within a few points.
Hegseth’s travel to Iowa to campaign for Hinson and others is highly unorthodox. Previous defense secretaries largely abstained from overt political activity while in the position.
Hegseth, however, aligns himself closely with Trump and the president’s policy objectives, such as the insistence on renaming the Department of Defense to the “Department of War” without congressional authorization and the attempt to rechristen the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.
As he defends the ongoing war with Iran in Iowa, however, the secretary is also battling reports of awful conditions being endured by sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Sea providing support for U.S. operations against Iran and other missions in the region.
The carrier’s crew have reported disgusting and unsanitary living quarters and other spaces around the ship, and have complained to loved ones about deteriorating mental health among service members aboard.
The president and Hegseth have denied this, with Trump himself even insisting that the carrier’s deployment should last even longer.