Newt 2012 to open another Iowa office soon?

The first Iowa office, located in Des Moines, is expected to be opened before the month is over.

The Daily Iowan reports:

Iowa caucus candidate Newt Gingrich may soon open a campaign office in Iowa City, he told The Daily Iowan at a town-hall meeting Monday, and campus Republicans say that's a good move.

"I think Iowa City is the smartest choice," said Natalie Ginty, the chairwoman of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans, who met with Gingrich staffers recently.

Campaign officials said Iowa City was an attractive location because even though Johnson County is overwhelmingly Democratic, the size of the county means there are many Republicans here.

"We just started thinking about [an eastern Iowa office] over the weekend," said Michael Krull, Gingrich's campaign coordinator. "Some of the [University of Iowa] College Republicans suggested it would be a great thing to have it in Iowa City, so we're definitely considering putting it there."

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Johnson County has 18,428 registered Republicans, according to the Johnson County auditor's website. The county has the sixth largest concentration of registered Republicans in the state, according to the Iowa secretary of State's website.

Krull said he sat down with several Iowa Republican supporters over the weekend to discuss the best location for a second Iowa office. The campaign will soon open its first Iowa office in Des Moines, he said.

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Johnson County Republican Caucus Chairman Bill Keettel said putting an office in Iowa City would be an excellent geographical choice.

Newt's campaigning in Iowa getting attention.

Newt's campaigning in Iowa -- being there 16 of 45 days -- is getting attention in the Iowa press. Jennifer Jacobs of Des Moines-Register wrote a column today highlighting Newt's recent appearances in the Hawkeye State as well as his upcoming ones.

Newt will be back in the state with the first Presidential contest next Tuesday in "in Decorah and the surrounding area."

Jacobs:

On Aug. 4, Gingrich will be the highlight of a lawn party in Des Moines’s Waterbury neighborhood. Organizers of a five-county fundraiser say he will be at their event in Tiffin on Aug. 5. And he will be at the Iowa State Fair, his spokesman said this morning.

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Since then, he was in Des Moines for the Strong America Now debt-reduction summit on June 18 and in Indianola on a tea party bus tour stop June 25.

On Fourth of July, he marched in the parade in Clear Lake and visited with political activists in that area.

Last week, Gingrich did speeches as part of a Family Leader lecture series in Pella and Iowa City. On the same day, July 11, he met with the Iowa Conservative Union in Cedar Rapids.

Later in the week, he spoke to a conservative breakfast club in Des Moines, threw the first pitch at an Iowa Cubs game (the ball did make it to the catcher, but Gingrich was in front of the mound, not on it), and spoke at a tea party event in Lamoni.

Before his Iowa visit next week, Gingrich is scheduled to be on the East Coast, campaigning in the early-voting state of New Hampshire before traveling to Georgia for several stops, including a meeting with phone bank volunteers at the Newt 2012 headquarters who call voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.