Donald Trump is building his Republican presidential campaign staff in Iowa similar to his defunct NBC TV series "The Apprentice" — and his celebrity is making it easier on some fronts.
"We're getting a lot of buzz," Chuck Laudner, Trump's Iowa campaign director and former state GOP executive director, told
The New York Times. "Transforming that into caucus support is going to be the heavy lift."
The challenge is translating the outrage among Iowans at the Washington establishment into voters who will support the billionaire businessman in the caucuses in February, the Times reports.
Trump maintains a robust field operation, including 10 paid volunteers. Staffers collect hundreds of cards with voters' email addresses at rallies, while others are working to recruit precinct captains, the Times reports.
In addition, the many visitors to Trump's blue campaign bus parked at shopping malls receive caucus materials.
"Our candidate's really doing a tremendous job to make our job easy," Elizabeth Davidson, who is recruiting captains in Scott County, told the Times. "People reach out to you when they figure out you're working for Trump."
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