For Iowa Republicans running for almost any office, “There’s only a downside to opposing Trump. And he’s more willing to take the bat to the dissenters,” said A.J. Spiker, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party who was aligned with the faction that supported Ron Paul, the former Texas congressman, and his son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. In 2016, Spiker opposed Trump and called for him to step down after the leak of the “Access Hollywood” tape. Today, he is out of professional politics and sells real estate.