Huckabee woos, jokes with state fair crowd

In March, Bruce Rastetter, an Iowa businessman and GOP donor, who has made his fortune from hogs and ethanol interests in the state, convened an agricultural forum in Des Moines that was attended by a dozen GOP presidential candidates. Here are some highlights from Thursday’s speeches as the fair kicked off.

The former governor of Arkansas, who won the 2008 Iowa Republican caucus, talked about his conservative agenda and his executive experience.

As Republicans call for stripping Planned Parenthood of its federal funding amid a string of videos that raise ethical and potentially legal questions about the group’s abortion practices, Huckabee suggested that would not be enough. “Let’s stop the slaughter”.

The Iowa State Fair Food Department is the largest of any state fair in the country.

Huckabee was one of three candidates to speak on the fair’s first day. “That’s why I choose to be a Democrat, not just in presidential years, but in every year of my life”.

He told the crowd, “You ask questions”.

He said passage of the Fair Tax by Congress would provide a boost to the economy, growing it by 6%.

“We have a million people come through there, in the eleven days of the fair”, says Northey.

“The fair has been very conscious about making sure that they provide some of that Ag exposure for the attendees from the Animal Learning Center where you can see baby calves and chicks and pigs being born, and lambs and goats”, says Northey.

“The Fair Tax changes that and gives us the competitive edge so we bring those manufacturing jobs back”.

Jim Webb speaks to fairgoers in Des Moines on August. 13, 2015. Trump is said to even be hoping to create his own attraction at the fair by offering helicopter rides to kids, but fair officials said that was not allowed.

“I think it’s something that has prepared me, in the best way that anyone can be prepared, to be your commander in chief”, he said.

Democratic presidential candidate, former Virginia Sen. “Those things are important, but I’ve gotten things done”, he said.

O’Malley used his appearance at the Iowa State Fair’s political “soapbox” to touch upon a series of goals for the next president, from raising the median net worth of families to cutting the unemployment rate for young people to generating 100 percent of American electricity from renewable sources by 2050. Hollister, 85, has overseen the food competitions at the fair for 30 years, expanding the number of food divisions to 218 with a prize purse of $76,000, according to the Des Moines Register.

O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, drew a standing room only crowd in sweltering heat. “Trust me. It’s what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack”, he told the audience at the Des Moines Register Soapbox, where presidential candidates can speak for up to 20 minutes.