By Pepper Purpura
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — A new billboard along Southeast 14th Street in Des Moines is drawing attention and raising questions about its intent.
The sign, which went up over the weekend, encourages supporters of President Donald Trump to reconsider their involvement in the “Make America Great Again” movement. It directs viewers to a group called “Leaving MAGA,” a nonprofit that said it offers support to people who want to step away from the movement.
With its simple message and high-traffic placement, the billboard has quickly become part of a broader conversation: Is it political persuasion, or genuine outreach?
A message aimed at “doubters” The Des Moines sign is part of a recent wave of billboards that have appeared in multiple cities. Besides Des Moines, signs are paid for and posted in Austin, Texas, Spokane, Washington and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. More are planned in Idaho and Florida.
Rich Logis, founder of Leaving MAGA, said the goal is not to convince committed supporters to change their vote, but to reach people who may already be questioning their beliefs.
“We created our community as a new destination, a support space and a safe space, and an off-ramp for those who feel like they can no longer support the MAGA movement and support the president but needed a place to go,” Logis said.
Logis describes himself as a former Trump supporter who became deeply involved in the movement, but began reconsidering his views during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the organization now focuses on people who feel similarly, those who may be experiencing doubt but don’t know how to disengage from a political movement that has become part of their identity.
“We want them to know that we have been where they are and that it’s OK to be afraid, it’s normal to feel that way, and that it’s also OK to change one’s mind,” Logis said.
What “Leaving MAGA” offers According to Logis, the organization functions less like a political advocacy group and more like a support network.
The group hosts weekly online meetings for former MAGA supporters, as well as separate sessions for friends and family members navigating relationships with loved ones who remain in the movement. It also features personal stories and testimonials on its website from individuals describing their experiences leaving.
Logis said the group does not require members to adopt any specific political ideology or party affiliation. Instead, he frames the process as one of rejecting misinformation and rebuilding a sense of identity outside the movement.
That approach, he said, is intentional.
“We don’t want to be just another anti-Trump group,” Logis said in the interview. “We are very much a pro-truth and pro-human group.”
Cost, funding and early impact Logis said the Des Moines billboard cost about $4,000 and will remain up for at least four weeks. The effort, he says, was funded entirely through small-dollar donations.
As for impact, Logis points to early indicators like increased web traffic from the Des Moines area and direct outreach from individuals.
He says the group has already received a handful of messages from people who identify as current MAGA supporters but are seeking help in leaving.
Still, the scale of that response remains limited, especially compared to the visibility the billboard has generated online.
The challenge of changing political identity KCCI political analyst Dennis Goldford said efforts like this face a fundamental challenge: political identity is often deeply personal.
“MAGA, like many other political movements across the political spectrum, certainly has various policy views, but they create their own kind of community,” Goldford said.
That sense of community, he said, can make it difficult for individuals to step away, even if they begin to question their beliefs.
“It’s not just changing a political opinion,” Goldford said. “It’s stepping away from a group that may be tied to your identity, your relationships, and how you see yourself.”
Potential political ripple effects While Leaving MAGA describes itself as nonpartisan and says it does not endorse candidates, Goldford notes that efforts like this can still have political consequences.
“The big concern for Republicans is not that their supporters will vote for Democrats,” he said. “It’s that they won’t vote at all.”
In a state like Iowa, where Republicans hold a voter registration advantage and recent statewide elections have favored GOP candidates, even small shifts in turnout could matter in competitive races.
At the same time, Goldford cautions against overstating the impact.
He said it remains unclear whether billboard campaigns like this can meaningfully influence behavior, particularly among deeply committed supporters.
Republican response Iowa Republicans are dismissing the campaign outright.
In a statement, Iowa GOP spokesperson Jade Cichy said:
“This isn’t the first liberal billboard campaign to pop up in Iowa — and, like the others, it won’t make a difference. This is a state that voted for President Trump three times, most recently by a decisive 13-point margin. Iowa Republicans’ 200,000-strong voter registration advantage shows we’re aligned with the values Iowans hold, and no billboard is going to change that.”
A broader question For now, the Des Moines billboard remains one more message competing for attention along a busy roadway.
But it also reflects a broader question playing out nationally: how, and whether, people disengage from deeply rooted political movements.
For Logis, success is not measured in votes or polling shifts, but in whether people take the first step and reach out.
For critics and skeptics, the question remains whether that outreach is meaningful or simply another form of political messaging in an increasingly polarized landscape.
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