COLFAX, Iowa -- Convenience stores in the Hawkeye State are leveraging the presidential primary election cycle that begins officially with the Iowa Caucuses on Feb. 1. Earlier this month, Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) went to work Jan. 8 behind the counter at the Casey’s General Store in Manly, Iowa.
Now it's Carly Fiorina's turn.
Fiorina, former HP executive and now GOP presidential candidate, stopped at a Kum & Go convenience store in Colfax, Iowa, on Jan. 26 to work behind the counter and to interact with the community, like Cruz, as part of the NACS In Store initiative of the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Although she said that the retailer does not endorse any candidates, spokesperson Kristie Bell told CSP Daily News, "Kum & Go was happy to partner with NACS on this In Store event at the Kum & Go in Colfax, Iowa, to offer presidential candidate Carly Fiorina a firsthand look at the economic opportunity and wide range of products and services convenience stores provide the public."
The new c-store employee arrived at the Colfax Kum & Go at 8:45 a.m. and met privately on her campaign RV with a NACS member before walking through the store to meet with supporters and customers who happened to be there buying their morning doughnut and coffee, reported The Newton Daily News.
Fiorina did not give a stump speech in Colfax or speak to members of the media, but she met individually with about a dozen supporters and several local Kum & Go staff, the report said.
- Watch the slideshow below. And click here for photos from The Des Moines Register.
Both Democrats and Republicans have received invitations to participate in these events, said NACS.
“The NACS In Store program gives elected officials a perfect opportunity to experience how these stores serve the public in their home districts,” said Henry Armour, NACS president and CEO. “Over time, convenience store owners and the customers and communities they serve should benefit from policies that spur further growth, prosperity and innovation in the sector. We believe our elected officials will emerge with an even more intimate understanding not only of convenience stores’ challenges, but also of their many contributions across the economic, social and cultural spectrum.”
Although he reportedly has some experience running a business, there was no word on when GOP candidate Donald Trump will don the khakis, polo shirt and hat of a front-line Iowa convenience-store worker.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go has more than 430 convenience stores in 11 states (Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming).
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