Two days after Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in a hush money case, Iowa Republicans rallied in Des Moines to urge their supporters to turn out to support him and other GOP candidates in the coming November elections.

“Joe Biden’s America is more dangerous than we have seen in years,” U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Saturday at her annual Roast and Ride fundraiser. “It is less secure here in America because of his policies. But we cannot give into this way of life.”

As she and other Iowa Republicans took the stage, each backed the former president unequivocally despite the New York jury’s verdict that came after only 10 hours of deliberation.

“It’s time we restore faith in our justice system and stop the political persecution of Donald J. Trump,” Ernst said to applause.

Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York criminal trial May 30, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. He was convicted of falsifying business records in an effort to conceal hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her story away from voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump could serve up to four years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who said ahead of the Iowa Caucuses that she endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because she didn’t believe Trump could win a general election, also backed the former president profusely on Saturday.

“They’ve weaponized the justice system with a political persecution of our nominee and Biden’s opponent,” Reynolds said. “But I can tell you without hesitation that on Nov. 5 the people of this country will weigh in. And $53 million in 24 hours is a pretty good indication of where the people of this country are standing.”

Trump’s campaign has said it raised $53 million in the day after his conviction.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson and Zach Nunn also used some of their time on stage to support Trump.

“The only way the Democrats have, when they know that they’ve lost to President Trump, is to try and take back the House so on day one, they can impeach him. So that on day two, they can try to impeach him. And so that on day three and four, they will just try to impeach him,” said Nunn, who is seeking re-election to the swingy 3^rd Congressional District in central Iowa. “Because that’s the only thing, as we’ve seen this week, that the Democrats have in their playbook.”

Asked by reporters if she has faith in the independent jury system, which found Trump guilty, Ernst again criticized the process.

“If you listen to the judge’s instructions, they were mind boggling to me,” she said. “So one juror could find one count maybe guilty, and then it could be considered unanimous. This was ridiculous. It is a sham. I am worried.”

The judge’s instructions did require the jurors to unanimously agree that Trump used some unlawful means to interfere in the election, but he said they didn’t need to agree on which means he used.

Prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying business records to interfere in the 2016 presidential election using three “unlawful means:”

• Violating federal campaign finance laws through a hush money payment to Daniels;

• Falsifying another business record under New York law, such as bank records tied to former Trump fixer Michael Cohen’s payment to Daniels’ lawyer; and

• Violating New York tax laws.

More: Trump jury had to be unanimous in hush money trial to find him guilty | Fact check

Wesley Hunt headlines Roast and Ride, known for attracting White House hopefuls

Ernst’s Roast and Ride is known for attracting presidential candidates during caucus years, as well as future hopefuls in off years.

On Saturday, freshman U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, was the featured speaker. He is an Army veteran who graduated from West Point and served in Iraq, and he is on some shortlists of Trump’s potential vice-presidential candidates.

Hunt spoke earlier this year at a Republican Party of Iowa event in Fort Dodge, and he was the featured speaker at Reynolds’ annual Harvest Festival fundraiser in 2022. But he said his frequent trips to Iowa are because his in-laws live in the state, not because of any future White House ambitions.

Hunt told reporters he has not had conversations with Trump about the VP position.

“President Trump has not said anything to me about this,” he said after the event. “My purpose at the end of the day is making sure that he gets reelected, doing everything in our power to be able to do that.”

Hunt joined Ernst and about 140 others in the annual motorcycle ride across Des Moines and into the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Joni Ernst plans to seek re-election in 2026

Hunt and the other Republican speakers who took the stage took time to praise Ernst, who is not up for election this year.

Ernst recently told reporters she intends to seek a third term in the U.S. Senate, although she said she would be open to serving in Donald Trump’s administration if he is elected in November.

“It would be such an honor to be asked to work in an administration,” she said Saturday. “So, I would be open to whatever the president — if he asked, I would certainly be willing to respond.”

But otherwise, she said, she’s planning to run for re-election in 2026.

“Yes,” she said. “Ten out of 10, yes.”

GOP urges engagement in 2024 elections, even as Iowa looks ‘so red’

The rally, which drew about 700 people, came days before the June 4 primary elections that will kick off the general election season in Iowa.

Republicans urged attendees to stay engaged, even as it seems that they have the upper hand.

“We are so red. I don’t know if we’ve got a redder color than red,” Kaufmann said. “But if the Democrats keep up this silly, stupid, corrupt nonsense, we’re going to be a redder shade of red.”

Grassley pointed to Iowa’s two targeted congressional races in the 1^st and 3^rd districts, where national Democrats have promised to direct resources toward ousting the Republican incumbents.

“In those districts, you’ve got to work real hard for them,” Grassley said. “I’m not saying don’t work hard for (Randy) Feenstra and (Ashley) Hinson. But when you’re targeted, there’s going to be a lot of resources going into those districts from the Democrats. And we’ve got to work hard to keep all four of them.”

Ernst told reporters it was important for the speakers to push Iowans to support Trump in November as well.

“We cannot forget and we have to turn out in November,” she said. “We know we’re a red state. Some people may take that for granted and think, ‘He doesn’t need our support. He’s already got it.’ But we need to drive out numbers and we need to continue to encourage our neighbors, our friends to get out there as well as folks in other states too.”

USAT TODAY reporter Aysha Bagchi contributed to this story.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Republicans rally behind Donald Trump at Joni Ernst Roast and Ride