WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton will be in Iowa this week to campaign for Republican candidates as the Arkansan shows signs that he's laying the groundwork for a 2024 presidential run.
The 45-year-old senator will speak at a county GOP dinner in Cambridge, Iowa, on Thursday and is scheduled the day before to appear in West Des Moines, Iowa, for Republican Zach Nunn, a state lawmaker who is running for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District seat.
Cotton, of Little Rock, is also expected to attend a rally on Wednesday in Ankeny, Iowa, with candidates for the Iowa Legislature.
The visit certainly will not be the first Iowa trip for Cotton. The senator has visited Iowa eight times since 2019, according to Caroline Tabler, a Cotton campaign spokeswoman.
The purpose of the trip this week is to campaign for Iowa Republicans, Tabler said in an interview.
Iowa is important in Republican efforts to retake control of the House and Senate, she said, and Cotton has a strong relationship with U.S. Chuck Grassley, who is running for reelection.
Cotton and Grassley serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee together and both did push-ups together at a Republican event in Iowa last year.
Cotton, at a meeting in June, told a number of his top donors that another presidential bid by Republican Donald Trump would not discourage him from running, according to a report from Politico.
Cotton, during the meeting at a Washington, D.C., hotel near the White House, "detailed the work he's done to develop an infrastructure for a national campaign," according to the Politico report.
Cotton did not contest the Politico story or his reported comments about another Trump campaign during a Fox News appearance that same day. The senator said the meeting is an annual event in which friends and supporters of his come in from Arkansas and across the nation.
"It's great to see so many friends. We had a lot of good conversation about what we're going to do to help Republicans win the Senate and the House later this year, and then what the future holds," he said during the interview.
Cotton, during the interview, pointed to the importance of the election later this year and said "then we'll see what happens after the midterms."
On Thursday, the senator is scheduled to talk at a dinner in Story County, Iowa.
The Republican Party of Story County is putting on the event, which is a fundraiser, said Brett Barker, chair of the county party.
Cotton has "some unique insight" into many big issues, Barker said, adding that he anticipates the senator will address the war in Eastern Europe, the economy and pro-life issues.
Aside from trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, Cotton is a frequent presence on conservative cable shows and has made multiple high-profile speeches this year.
In March, during a speech at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Cotton lambasted criminal justice reform efforts. He also criticized President Joe Biden's posture toward Russia, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin watched Biden's "shameful" retreat in regards to Afghanistan and perceived weakness.
Cotton, during the March 7 speech in California, also distanced himself from Trump on the First Step Act, a bill approved by the former president that included correctional and sentencing reform.
Cotton labeled the measure the "worst mistake" of Trump's tenure.
"It's time to declare a new war on crime that won't stop until the carnage stops," he said during the speech.
The same speaking series at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has featured other potential 2024 presidential candidates like former Vice President Mike Pence and former ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley.