DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Strange as it seems, Iowa Democrats can expect to see Donald Trump at the state party’s annual marquee fundraiser next month.
That is, in the form of actor Alec Baldwin, the walking parody of the Republican president.
The actor who received an Emmy award last month for his running parody of Trump on Saturday Night Live is to be the keynote speaker at the state party banquet in Des Moines on Nov. 27.
It’s a role often reserved for presidential prospects in the leadoff presidential caucus state.
Whether or not Baldwin entertains the light-hearted urgings of former President Bill Clinton to run for president, Baldwin should certainly expect an audience hungry for lifted spirits.
Iowa Democrats are at a 20-year low, having reveled for the past eight years in first launching Barack Obama to the presidential nomination and twice delivering the state for him.
But today, Republicans control the Statehouse in Des Moines, both U.S. Senate seats and a majority of U.S. House seats.
“Heading into the 2018 midterm elections and beyond, I have decided to rededicate my efforts to helping the Democratic Party win across the country,” Baldwin said in a statement distributed by the Iowa Democratic Party. “That effort begins in earnest in Iowa.”
Iowa Democrats see the state’s governor’s race as a prime opportunity to recapture power in the state.
Eight candidates are seeking the 2018 nomination, a dynamic even some Republicans see as an opportunity for the out-of-power party.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is finishing the final 18 months of veteran Republican Terry Branstad’s term. Reynolds is seeking the governorship next year, having served as lieutenant governor before Branstad was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to China in June.
