The Iowa State Fair kicked off this week in Des Moines, treating an estimated one million visitors to 11 days of fun, animals, politics and loads of fried food.
The event normally pulls in around $20 million over the course of more than a week, and is a draw for national politicians seeking office. This is ground zero for many of the embarrassing photos of political figures stuffing their face, all in an effort to shore up support in this treasure trove of early votes.
Following are some photos of the state fair, which one Iowa official says is worth more than $100 million in economic impact, and boasts some 200 individual booths. Oh, and there are at least 50 different kinds of food impaled on a stick.
--By CNBC's Morgan Brennan
15 Aug 2015
Pork chop on a stick, one of the fair's biggest food attractions.
Served fresh from the oven, Barksdale's "famous" chocolate chip cookies.
A row of booths, just a handful of the Iowa State Fair's 200.
Call the cardiologist! Fried dogs, of just about every variety you can conceive.
The fair has no shortage of corn dogs, especially because Iowa is at the top of the U.S. list of corn producers.
Everything in Iowa's State Fair is 'Texas-sized', like the tenderloin served at this particular stand.
Did someone say fried ice cream?
Elvis would be proud: This booth has fried twinkies (The King of Rock and Roll was reportedly a big fan of deep fried treats)
A little something for the vegetarians: some veggies to offset all the meat and sweets.