- March 19, 2015 -

Trump should just buy Pizza Ranch

Read more at The Des Moines Register

I took a taxi to the airport last month and mentioned to the driver I was a journalist covering politics. "I'm for Trump," he volunteered.

A couple of weeks later, I stopped at a convenience store near the Iowa State Fairgrounds and chatted with the clerk about presidential politics. He also volunteered he would support Donald Trump, the brash billionaire real-estate developer and TV celebrity.

It doesn't surprise me anymore to hear it. People I run into outside of political events say Trump is different, that he's the opposite of politically correct and that he knows how to get stuff done. A few just want to see that hairdo in person.

Most are not the sort of people who normally turn up at the Iowa caucuses. They're not politically active, they don't contribute to candidates and many probably don't even vote, at least not in primaries.

That's part of the attraction for political activist Chuck Laudner, who surprised many in Iowa Republican circles by signing on to work for Trump's campaign. Trump announced Wednesday that he is launching an exploratory committee for the 2016 presidential race.