It’s a July 4th tradition every four years in Iowa and New Hampshire – White House hopefuls marching in Independence Day parades in the year before the presidential caucuses and primaries.
Iowa and New Hampshire have led off both major parties’ presidential nominating calendars for half a century, and while the Democrats are upending their schedule, the two states will once again kick off the GOP lineup in 2024.
And on Tuesday, five Republican presidential candidates are marching in parades in New Hampshire, with three more in Iowa.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, ex-CIA spy and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson are marching in parades in Amherst, Wolfeboro and Merrimack, New Hampshire. DeSantis was seen marching the entire route of the parade and was met with a lot of cheers – but some jeers as well.
“The fourth is not only celebrating independence but celebrating liberty and freedom that are synonyms for independence. I love the fourth of July because it reminds me of the men and the women who are willing to sacrifice everything for the cause of freedom,” Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview in Merrimack, New Hampshire. “I can’t think of a better day to celebrate are men in uniform, whether it’s backing the blue or whether it’s our military men and women. This is a great day to celebrate who we are.”
Scott emphasized that “there’s not a better place to call home than America and I can’t think of a better place to celebrate it than this state – the Granite State – Live free or Die. It’s really synonymous with who we are as Americans.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence marched in the Urbandale, Iowa, Independence Day parade, with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former nationally syndicated radio host and 2021 California gubernatorial recall election candidate Larry Elder marching in Clear Lake, Iowa. Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, is also in Iowa, taking part in July 4th festivities in Cedar Rapids.
Here are some sights from today as the presidential campaign trail and the parade routes intersected.
