Days after a heated debate, GOP candidates are taking a softer tone in Iowa

Casey DeSantis recounted some humorous interactions between her husband, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and their children. She then spoke in a more down-to-earth tone about her battle with cancer.

Vivek Ramaswamy brought his 3-year-old son, Karthik, on stage and discussed his Hindu faith.

And Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, sat next to her daughter Rena, who was recently married, and said she still remembered her as a little girl “with pigtails.”

The Republican presidential candidates who spoke Saturday at a “faith and family” event at Dordt University, an evangelical Christian school in Sioux Center, Iowa, tried to show a kinder, gentler side of themselves, just days after a bitter debate and little more. then a month before the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest.

The candidates came to this town of just over 8,000 on a snow-covered plain in rural northwest Iowa, less than 40 miles from South Dakota, to introduce themselves to the area’s conservative voters and drum up support to ask from Representative Randy Feenstra, the region’s representative. popular Republican congressman. Mr. Feenstra and his wife interviewed each candidate in front of about 400 community members and students in the BJ Haan Auditorium, where banners read “Glory to God Alone.”

Mr Feenstra said the more uplifting tone of the event was purposeful.

“We didn’t want any bickering,” he said. “People just wanted to hear an honest answer to some of these questions, without people interrupting them, without a 90-second segment.”

Then, away from the crowds and religious symbols, the candidates went right back to attacking each other – at least mildly.

The change in rhetoric underscored the weak position of any candidate not named Donald J. Trump. The former president, who did not attend the event, has persisted a commanding leadership over his rivals, and even Ms. Haley, who has gained ground after Mr. DeSantis slipped, remains far behind.

Mr Ramaswamy, who is further behind in most national polls, made a bold prediction for a come-from-behind victory.

“Our strategy is to shock expectations on January 15,” Mr Ramaswamy told reporters outside the venue, moments after doing 30 push-ups on the cold concrete with a member of the Dordrecht football team, who had emerged to support him.

Addressing the controversial debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Wednesday, where he accused Ms. Haley of being “corrupt” and a “fascist,” Mr. Ramaswamy suggested that Ms. Haley had stooped even further.

“She called me ‘scum’ and ‘stupid’ in the two debates. I didn’t call her stupid. I did reveal that neither they nor Chris Christie know anything about the countries they are supposedly sending our resources to fight for,” he said, referring to the former governor of New Jersey, who is also running for Republican nomination.

And while Mr. DeSantis struck a bipartisan tone on stage, saying he would look for common ground with his political opponents, he also went on the offensive in a post-event conversation, criticizing the donation that Mrs. Haley recently received from Reid Hoffman, the billionaire. Democratic donor who co-founded LinkedIn.

Linda Kreykes, 63, said she was inclined to support Mr. DeSantis but appreciated comments that Mr. Ramaswamy, who is of Indian descent, made onstage about the shared teachings of Christianity and Hinduism.

“He shared similarities between the two religions,” she said. “In the end, we’re not that different from each other.”

When it was her turn, Ms. Haley discussed the shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, when a white gunman killed nine black worshipers. Ms. Haley talked about her decision to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse after the shooter was seen in photos posing proudly with the flag and a racist manifesto he had written came to light.

But Ms. Haley, in recounting her decision to call for the flag’s removal, criticized the national news media, claiming they “wanted to talk about race.”

“Half of South Carolinians viewed the Confederate flag as tradition and heritage,” Ms. Haley said. “The other half of South Carolinians saw slavery and hatred. It wasn’t about me judging either side.”

A majority of Iowa politicians statewide have remained neutral during the Republican primaries, although Gov. Kim Reynolds has endorsed Mr. DeSantis. Mr Feenstra has indicated that he is also considering making an endorsement, although he refused on Saturday.

Still, the sympathetic event left an impression on voters, who said they were tired of the rancor of the debates.

Rather than let them bicker onstage, Steve Rehder, 59, who is deciding between Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis, said “tell the candidates to answer the question and move on.”