Former President Donald Trump responds to the crowd’s applause during a campaign event in Pickens, South Carolina, July 1, 2023. The former president faces a growing list of major opponents within the Republican Party.
Sean Rayford | Getty Images
The Iowa Republican Party is scheduled to hold its presidential candidate caucuses on January 15, 2024, with the first ballot in the upcoming election just over six months away.
The Iowa Republican Central Committee voted unanimously on Saturday to hold the leadoff contest on the third Monday in January, the federal holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Republican presidential candidates have been campaigning in Iowa since last winter, but there has been some uncertainty as to when the traditional race for the lead will take place. That’s partly due to the Democratic National Committee’s rescheduling, removing Iowa from the first campaign.
The GOP’s date is several weeks earlier than the last three Iowa caucuses, but not as much as in 2008, when it was held just three days into the new year.
A caucus, unlike a primary, is an election campaign that is planned, funded, and conducted by political parties rather than state election officials. Iowa’s announcement Saturday will allow New Hampshire, which has yet to set a primary election date, to defend its number one position codified in state law, pushing the race to at least seven ahead of other elections. It is obligatory to hold the day before the major.
Last month, Republicans in South Carolina set the date for the traditional first Southern primary to February 24, giving Nevada enough time to schedule its caucuses without crowding New Hampshire. .
Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufman said in a statement: “We remain committed to preserving Iowa’s cherished first national caucuses, and will continue to hold historic caucuses over the next few months. I look forward to defeating Joe Biden in November 2024.”
Saturday’s decision affects both parties as Iowa Democrats waited for the Iowa Republican Party to set caucus dates in an effort to align with the DNC’s new rules for the 2024 presidential primary. there is a possibility.
The Iowa Democratic Party is proposing to hold its caucuses on the same day as the state’s Republicans, allowing attendees to vote for president by mail ballot. But Iowa Democrats said they may not announce the results soon.
This ensures that the state party can continue to do so without violating a new primary date approved by President Joe Biden and approved by the DNC for South Carolina to begin the primary in place of Iowa in first place. It may be possible to hold the first nationwide caucuses. Voting is February 3rd.
