Jeff Kaufmann seeks another term to build on state GOP success

DES MOINES - Jeff Kaufmann said he originally planned to lead the Republican Party of Iowa just long enough to repair its fiscal woes.

But after accomplishing that and overseeing two wildly successful elections, Kaufmann wants to stick around for more.

Kaufmann is seeking re-election to another two-year term as chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa.

The party's state central committee is to choose its leader at a Jan. 28 meeting. Kaufmann said no one else has announced their intention to seek the leadership position.

Kaufmann has held the post since June 2014.

'I think that I'm at peace with another term,” Kaufmann said this week. 'Time has gone fast, but also things have progressed so quickly. But there's still work to be done.”

Kaufmann was elected state chairman after the 2012 elections. Because the state party under previous chairman A.J. Spiker did not place as much emphasis on fundraising, Kaufmann inherited a challenging financial situation.

In addition to bolstering the party's fundraising, Kaufmann has guided Iowa Republicans through the 2014 and 2016 elections that turned Iowa from purple to red: Iowa Republicans flipped seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, flipped control of the Iowa Senate and delivered the state for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump in convincing fashion.

Kaufmann said he wants to keep working for even more Republican success in Iowa and use the connections he and other Iowa Republicans built with President-elect Trump.

'It would almost be a shame if I did not take these connections that humbly have been bestowed upon me and turn it into something good for the party and, frankly, something good for the state,” Kaufmann said.

When asked if he was offered a position in the Trump administration, Kaufmann said only that he 'probably shouldn't discuss the contents of private discussions.”

Kaufmann said one of his top priorities would remain preserving Iowa's first-in-the-nation status in the presidential nominating process. He said that although he has learned to never say never, he feels good about Iowa's position under a Trump presidency.

'Donald Trump literally looked me in the eye and told me Iowa will be first in the nation,” Kaufmann said.

Top elected Republicans across the state this past week sent a letter to Kaufmann urging him to remain as chairman for another term, saying, 'the Iowa GOP has never been stronger.”

'There is no doubt that in the past two years Iowa Republicans have experienced tremendous electoral victories at the local, state and federal levels,” the letter said. 'In each case, the Republican Party of Iowa was instrumental in providing our candidates with the tools and resources necessary to accomplish these feats.”

The letter was signed by Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, Iowa's three Republican U.S. House members, majority leaders in the Iowa Legislature and national party committee members.

Cody Hoefert, state party co-chairman, also has declared his intention to seek another term.