Eric Branstad, the son of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, will run Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Iowa, according to a report in the National Review on Wednesday. An official announcement could come as early as this week.
The governor’s son previously supported Trump in the Iowa caucuses. Gov. Branstad did not endorse Trump but lent the candidate a hand by saying at a renewable fuels summit two weeks before the caucuses that it would be a mistake to vote for his main rival, Ted Cruz, because of his opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard that boosts Iowa’s ethanol industry.
Eric Branstad served as the state director of bipartisan pro-ethanol group America’s Renewable Future along with Democratic strategist Derek Eadon. He also owns a Des Moines public relations firm called Matchpoint Strategies.
Many prominent Republicans, including two former presidents, have said they refuse to vote for Trump. But Gov. Branstad, who has yet to seriously criticize Trump for racist remarks he’s made on the campaign trail, has said he will, even going as far as to suggest that Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst would fit the “ideal profile of somebody who would be a great vice presidential candidate.”
Eric Branstad’s Twitter profile photo shows him standing next to Trump and wearing a hat that reads, “Fueling America Great Again.” So far, his Twitter account has not taken on Trump’s over-the-top style, a contrast from Trump senior adviser and former Iowa campaign co-chair Tana Goertz, who has tweeted in support of vetting Muslims in the United States and attempted to tie President Obama to the Orlando mass shooter.
Last month, the governor’s son did retweet a message from Trump’s social media director, Dan Scavino, noting that Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson had endorsed the presumed GOP presidential nominee. Adelson, like Trump, is an enemy of a free and independent press.
