It’s a fried-food mecca — and political minefield.

The Iowa State Fair kicked off Thursday and a roster of 2020 presidential hopefuls will rotate through the event that’s served up make-or-break moments for past candidates alongside artery-clogging delights like “slaughterhouse poutine.”

In 2015, then-candidate Donald Trump dazzled the Des Moines crowd with his stylish arrival via helicopter — then offered free rides for the kids.

Barack Obama took a spin on the bumper cars in 2007 with his then 6-year-old daughter Sasha.

Ted Cruz marveled over the fair’s famous butter cow sculpture.

“Wow, a cow made of butter. My girls would love it,” Cruz tweeted in 2014. “In fact, the first sentence Caroline ever said was ‘I like butter.’ ”

But sometimes it’s the gaffes — and not the fun-in-the-sun glad-handing — that make the headlines.

The late Republican Sen. Fred Thompson appeared at the rural festival wearing a pair of $500 Gucci loafers in 2007.

Mitt Romney famously flipped a festival-staple pork chop onto the floor during a photo op — then threw it back on the grill, citing the “five-second rule.”

And, at a summer event where there’s no shortage of cold beer, John Kerry opted to sip a $4 strawberry smoothie while greeting residents in 2004.

The fair also has a lengthy history in political playmaking.

The first-ever presidential candidate to campaign there was Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, sparking a decades-long tradition.

In 1987, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race amid accusations that he lifted passages from a speech by British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock during a Democratic debate.

More than 20 Democratic candidates, and one Republican hopeful, will take the stage at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox over the next few days, the Reigster reported.

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke was scheduled to attend but canceled his Iowa campaigning in wake of the mass shooting in El Paso.

But the real showstoppers are arguably the heaps of artery-clogging foods the presidential wannabes may — or may not — choose to nosh on.

Time-honored classics like corn dogs, deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos are on the menu, but new this year are items like beef-fried tacos, bacon-wrapped pig wings, dill pickle popcorn and “slaughterhouse poutine” with pork belly, pulled pork and bacon.

And then there’s all things on a stick: Caramel-dipped pecan pie, bologna, bacon-wrapped riblets, peanut butter and jelly, pork belly and cookie dough in a waffle.

And there are plenty of healthy choices for candidates Sen. Cory Booker, who is vegan, and vegetarian Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, including salads, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, veggie corn dogs and even dried fruit log.

The Iowa State Fair runs until Aug. 18.

With Post wires