“When you look around, so many of these staffers are barely five years older than they are, so it was just the ultimate learning opportunity,” he said. “I’ve also never been here before. And so for me, I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’”

The group arrived in Des Moines to frigid temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground, but that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for seeing presidential candidates they’d only read about so far.

First up: A rally for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who arrived on stage to a packed crowd at his West Des Moines headquarters with his wife and 5-year-old son.

The students also plan to attend events for former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

“We’ve obviously had exposure to them already in the media and through their interviews or debates, but seeing them in person is just a different experience for all of us,” said Bobby, a senior at Westminster. The school asked that the students’ last names be withheld for privacy reasons.

The chance to go to Iowa in January may not entice most teenagers, but Peter, also a senior, said the trip to the caucuses is the reason he wanted to take the class.

“I had no understanding of campaigns and elections,” he said. “So I just wanted to be more informed and I thought going was the best way to do that.”

The students’ assignment for the trip is to produce a documentary on a part of the political process.

Fellow students Ellora and Campbell’s documentary is on the caucus process itself. “It’s the duty of every American citizen to know about what’s going on in politics, and what’s going to happen to their country,” Ellora said. “And that’s a big part of why I wanted to take this class.”

They’ll include the candidates, as well as the Iowans they meet along the way.

With one event down, the group headed into the Iowa snow.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Tired of Trump, these Iowa voters are for Ron DeSantis

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa-- As Iowa voters waited for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to arrive for a rally at his Iowa headquarters, one theme emerged from their conversations — nearly all had supported former President Donald Trump in the past, but won’t caucus for him again in 2024.

Ron Steenhoek, a retired pilot from West Des Moines, supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, but he won’t do it again.

“I think Trump was a good guy at the right time, but he’s kind of gone rogue on us. I can’t support him like I used to,” Steenhoek said. He pointed to Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election and Trump’s “way he trashes anybody that criticizes him,” to explain why he no longer supports the former president.

As for DeSantis, Steenhook said his record in Florida speaks for itself. “He’s done some things in his state that should be done in the country and I think he can do it,” he said.

Sitting one table over from Steenhoek was Debbie Heddinger, a caucus chair for DeSantis in West Des Moines who said she just logged her 2,016th commit-to-caucus call for the governor. She voted for Trump the last two times but wants to see DeSantis win this year.

“We need somebody who is young and vigorous like DeSantis. We need a fresh start, a new start, not the same old, same old,” she said.

Standing in the back of the room was Chuck Hays, who also voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but said the former president did a “lousy job during COVID,” with businesses around the country closing.

A DeSantis White House would look like Trump’s, except he would get it done, Hays said.

“He’s gonna do things to help the middle class. He’s gonna drain the swamp. He’s gonna build the wall and he’s probably even gonna make Mexico pay for it.”

The key to winning in Iowa has traditionally been grassroots organizing like the work Rob Owen is doing. The landscape architect from Urbandale is a precinct captain for DeSantis, whom he called “a grinder,” after supporting Trump twice.

Owen doesn’t trust the polls that show Trump 30 points ahead of the rest of the field in Iowa. Owen said he thinks Iowans will defy expectations, as they have many times before.

“We might surprise some people,” he said. “I remember back in ‘16 and ‘20. I saw a lot of Trump signs. You never see any Trump signs now…I’ve seen a lot of DeSantis signs.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tia Mitchell, columnist Patricia Murphy and photographer Hyosub Shin are braving the cold in Iowa to cover the lead-up to Monday’s Republican caucuses. Follow their coverage on AJC.com/politics, and follow them on X: Mitchell at @ajconwashington, Murphy at @MurphyAJC and Shin at @ilovefoto