Iowa Republicans will hold their upcoming presidential caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024, the state party announced Saturday.
The announcement resolves one uncertainty about the 2024 Iowa caucuse. However, it is still in question as Iowa Democrats seek to hold an early caucus while following rules set by the Democratic National Committee last year that kicked Iowa Democrats from the first-in-the-nation spot.
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Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized Iowa Democrats’ previous caucus proposals — which included conducting the presidential selection process primarily by mail — in his announcement on Saturday.
“After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats’ plans to derail the Iowa Caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honor our half-century-old promises to the other carveout states,” he said. “We remain committed to maintaining Iowa’s cherished first-in-the-nation caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024.”
Generally, the one point of agreement between Iowa Democrats and Republicans, the caucus process has become fractious as Republicans have accused Democrats of threatening Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status with their mail-in caucus proposal.
Republicans said that process would be considered a primary and cause New Hampshire, the first primary state, to jump ahead of Iowa in the presidential selection process. Democrats argued that was premature, as their caucus process is not finalized.
The DNC rules committee denied Iowa Democrats’ most recent plan in June. However, Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart said they would continue with “the most inclusive caucus process in our history.”
Iowa Republican lawmakers also moved to constrain Iowa Democrats during the legislative session this year.
Republicans passed, and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed, a law that requires parties to hold their caucuses in person if the purpose of the caucus is to select delegates for the presidential nomination.
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Iowa Republicans are garnering most of the caucus attention this year, as it is the first for more than a dozen candidates vying for the party’s presidential nomination.
President Donald Trump currently leads in polling, but the caucuses will be the first test of the candidates’ electoral strength.
