Iowa Republican Party sets date for 2024 caucus

GOP chooses federal holiday for first contest to choose presidential nominee

Iowa Republicans have voted to hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses on 15 January 2024.

This is the earliest start to the presidential nominating process since 2012, when caucusgoers gathered on 3 January.

The State Central Committee of the Iowa Republican Party met on Saturday (8 July) and voted unanimously for the date.

It also happens to be the third Monday in January, making it the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann issued the following statement after the vote: “The Republican Party of Iowa is proud to announce that we will officially hold our 2024 First-in-the-Nation Caucus on January 15, 2024.

“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 honour our half-century-old promises to the other carve-out states.

“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.”

Iowa Democrats had planned to conduct their presidential preference vote by mail following a disastrous 2020 caucus in which there were big delays in reporting the results, however Governor Kim Reynolds has since signed a new law requiring caucuses be held in person.

Pete Buttigieg was eventually found to be the winner of the state in 2020, winning two more delegates than Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic National Committee has approved a new primary calendar placing South Carolina first, taking the coveted first-in-the-nation spot away from Iowa, reasoning the former state is more representative of the rest of the US.

Republican presidential candidates have been crisscrossing the state for weeks trying to drum up support for their campaigns.

On Friday, former president Donald Trump spoke at a Farmers for Trump event in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state.