Today in Politics: Campaign Trail Makes Room for Long Fly Balls and Weekend – First Draft. Political News, Now. – NYTimes.com

When seven Republican presidential hopefuls roll into Iowa this weekend for Senator Joni Ernst’s inaugural “Roast and Ride,” only one — Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin — will truly be cruising.

That’s right, Mr. Walker, a Harley-Davidson aficionado who owns a 2003 Road King, will be the only likely 2016 candidate riding alongside Ms. Ernst and her husband, Gail, on the 39-mile route between Big Barn Harley-Davidson in Des Moines (where the event kicks off) to a day of speeches, retail politics, horseshoes and, of course, roast pork in Boone.

Mr. Walker has had breakout moments in Iowa before, including an energetic speech at a forum this year that helped propel him onto the national stage.

But Ms. Ernst’s pork-and-hog extravaganza — her answer to former Democratic Senator Tom Harkin’s steak fry — seems tailor-made for Mr. Walker.

Not only is he an avid motorcycle rider, but he also knows a thing or two about hunting. His most recent campaign for governor featured a $50 “Hunters for Walker” package, which included a camouflage drink koozie, an orange hunter’s T-shirt and a black gun sock with the Walker logo.

But Mr. Walker will not have the day to himself — the retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, the former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will also attend.

Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Rubio each have ties to the state. In 2008, Mr. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses. And Mr. Rubio visited the state several times during the 2014 cycle when he campaigned on Ms. Ernst’s behalf.

via Today in Politics: Campaign Trail Makes Room for Long Fly Balls and Weekend – First Draft. Political News, Now. – NYTimes.com.