Iowa State Fair Do-or-Die Soapbox Gives GOP Presidential Underdogs a Shot at Debate Stage

The second day of the 11-day Iowa State Fair was for lesser Republican underdogs. Day Three will see at least seven presidential candidates, including former President and far-ahead GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., make pitches.

Republican presidential candidate and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

DES MOINES, Iowa—Day two of the Iowa State Fair may have been the last stand for three 2024 Republican presidential aspirants struggling to gain traction in a 13-candidate field dominated by former President Donald Trump.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Michigan magnate Perry Johnson, and conservative radio commentator Larry Elder, Jr., all took to the haystack-framed stage at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on Aug. 11—the unassuming yet fabled off-midway venue where, for decades, favorites have seen ambitions dissolve like cotton candy in a dunk tank and where underdogs have found their legs to become president.