Sarah Palin has dropped another hint of her intention to run for the White House in 2012, dispatching aides to scope out office space in Iowa, the first stop in the presidential race.

The "will she, won't she?" speculation about Palin in 2012 has become a Washington parlour game – as well as generating free publicity for her new book, which goes on sale this week.

In the course of making arrangements for that tour, two aides organising Palin's visit to Des Moines on 27 November told locals they were looking into office space and other logistical needs for the coming year, the Guardian has learned.

The book itself was widely seen as a sign that Palin was considering a run for the White House. She has said on a number of occasions that she is weighing her prospects with her family. In an interview with ABC television, she even said she could beat Barack Obama in an election.

Some of her staff now appear to be putting the pieces in place in case Palin does decide to run. One of the aides, who only eats kosher food, told a local rabbi he was looking into longer term arrangements in Iowa.

"He was looking to be able to accommodate the needs of those coming down looking to set up shop here for campaigning in the coming years," said Yossi Jacobson of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Des Moines.

Others in Des Moines suggested Palin might be seeking a base from which to solidify her power within the Republican party, after successfully campaigning for a number of conservative Tea Party candidates during the mid-term elections. "It will be more than just a book signing – I am sure," said Jacobson.

The Iowa caucuses are the first stop in the presidential primaries, and can make or break a run for the White House. Obama's win in Iowa catapulted him ahead of the early favourite Hillary Clinton, setting him up for victory in the 2008 Democratic primaries.

This time around, a number of Republican contenders have visited Iowa to gather support before the presidential nomination contest begins in February 2012.

Palin addressed the Iowa Republican party's annual fundraiser last September. Also, Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor, set up a fundraising organisation in Iowa and the other early voting state of New Hampshire.

Mike Huckabee, who was surprisingly popular in Iowa in 2008, was to deliver a speech theretoday. He told Des Moines' WHO radio last week: "I'm looking at whether or not there's a pathway to victory. I'm not jumping into a pool when there's no water in it."

Palin's 16-stop schedule, unusually for a book tour, includes no readings in Los Angeles, New York or Washington DC, but has Palin spending time in states such as Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina.

In addition to stoking speculation about her political ambitions, the book has escalated Palin's running feud with the media. On Saturday she obtained a court order forcing the Gawker website to take down 21 leaked pages from her new book.