Ankeny, Iowa

       Ron DeSantis is nearing the end of his third pep rally of the day, surrounded by roughly 150 fans in a dimly lit baseball-themed sports bar (try the Ty Cobb Salad), when he tells the story that sums up his presidential appeal. “We had a Category 5 hurricane hit in Southwest Florida," he says. It washed out a bridge and a causeway, stranding thousands of islanders from their homes. The estimate to rebuild? Six months.

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