Hillary Clinton’s “I really do like Iowa” charm offensive took to the state’s biggest paper on Monday.
The presidential candidate wrote an oped published in the Des Moines Register to thank and recognize the “great ideas” she got from her trip to the state earlier this month.
“Everywhere I went, I met Iowans with great ideas for how we can get there,” Clinton wrote. “I will carry the stories and wisdom of the Iowans I met with me throughout the campaign and hopefully onto the White House. You are the reason I got into this race and I will work my heart out to earn your votes.”
Clinton’s first trip to Iowa was a three day visit that featured small events and roundtables at a factory and a community college. The visit was billed as a listening opportunity for Clinton, who has since used stories from the trip — along with her trip to New Hampshire — to provide anecdotal backing for policies the presidential candidate supports.
In the newspaper piece, Clinton mentions stories from Bryce Smith of Adel, who told Clinton about the burdens of student debt, and Bethany Moore of Olin, who spoke about the difficulty with juggling her children, job and school.
“Every conversation I had in Iowa this month left me more convinced that this is what we have to do,” Clinton wrote about her presidential plans.
Since Clinton announced her campaign earlier this month, her aides have stressed how the early presidential election states — particularly Iowa — will be their focus for the first month. Clinton came into Iowa as the frontrunner in 2008, but because of what many feel was a cocky campaign, she ended up finishing a disappointing third.
Clinton’s team now wants to slam the door in Iowa and to do that has a team of over 30 people — including 27 field organizers — working in the Hawkeye State, according to a spokesperson.
Clinton closed her oped with what many Iowa Democrats want to hear: “I’ll be back soon. Thanks for having me, Iowa.”