A ‘Roast and Ride’ diary: Debate jitters, freebies and high demand for DeSantis
DES MOINES, Iowa — Mike Pence rode a motorcycle. Longshot candidates scrambled to find new donors to make it on stage for the first Republican presidential debate. And Ron DeSantis briefly — only briefly — lost his daughter in the crowd. In the first major cattle call of 2024, every declared Republican presidential candidate except for Donald Trump gathered at the Iowa Fairgrounds on Saturday for Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride.” I got there early, stayed late and…