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Campaign Almanac: Former VP Mike Pence to launch bid for president from Iowa
Also, Iowa’s Hinson announces 3rd annual ‘BBQ Bash’
Former Vice President Mike Pence will launch his presidential campaign during a Des Moines rally on June 7, a source familiar with Pence’s plans confirmed.
The former vice president has made frequent visits to Iowa as he explored a bid for president. He will join several other presidential contenders at Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual Roast and Ride fundraiser on Saturday, days before the planned campaign launch.
He plans to campaign in all 99 counties, according to multiple reports. CNN will host a town hall with Pence at Grand View University at 8 p.m. June 7, the same day his campaign is set to launch.
Pence has made education, LGBTQ issues and civility in politics a focus of his early campaigning, taking particular aim at an often-maligned gender support policy the Eastern Iowa Linn-Mar school district adopted last year.
“If a school in the heartland of America, where a student would have to come in with a permission slip from their parents to get a Tylenol from the school nurse but could get a gender transition plan without ever notifying their parents, as I said then I’ll say it again: That’s not bad policy. That’s crazy,” Pence said during a Des Moines visit last week.
He’s also drawn contrast with his former boss and soon-to-be primary opponent, former President Donald Trump. In his bid to overturn the 2020 election Trump urged Pence to stop the certification of the results, and said Pence did not “have the courage to do what should have been done” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Pence said this year “there can be no tolerance” for the violence seen on Jan. 6, drawing comparisons to protests in many cities in 2020 against police violence.
Before being selected as Trump’s 2016 running mate, Pence was the governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017 and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.
Pence is polling around 5.5 percent in FiveThirtyEight’s national Republican primary polling average, trailing Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He drew 5 percent of support in a recent Emerson College poll of Iowa Republican voters.
Chris Christie, N.D. governor also set to announce presidential bid
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is set to join the growing field of Republicans seeking the party's 2024 presidential nomination.
Burgum, a wealthy software entrepreneur, is expected to launch his campaign during a June 7 event.
Burgum is scheduled to make “a special announcement” about the 2024 presidential race in Fargo, where he helped build Great Plains Software, according to a media advisory.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is set to announce his 2024 presidential campaign Tuesday at a town hall in Manchester, N.H., according to NBC News and The Washington Post.
Christie finished 10th in the 2016 Iowa caucuses and dropped out of the race after finishing sixth in the New Hampshire primary. He endorsed Donald Trump, and later was named the head of Trump’s transition team, only to emerge as a vocal critic of Trump after the then-president refused to concede his loss to Joe Biden in 2020 and pushed baseless claims of widespread election fraud.
Trump by far remains the leading Republican front-runner in the polls, both nationally and in Iowa.
Hinson announces 3rd annual ‘BBQ Bash’
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, announced she will host her annual “BBQ Bash” on Aug. 6 at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids.
Special guests and additional details will be announced in the coming weeks, according to her campaign.
Hinson’s fundraiser has drawn crowds of hundreds in past years, bringing together Iowans from across the state to hear from nationally prominent speakers.
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, headlined last year’s event.
Previous speakers included Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the 2016 Republican Iowa caucuses.
Tickets are available for purchase for $40, and kids 12 and under can attend free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at ashleyhinson.com/bbq.
Nikki Haley’s husband to deploy to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination
Nikki Haley’s husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment to Africa with the South Carolina National Guard as his wife campaigns for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“Our family, like every military family, is ready to make personal sacrifices when our loved one answers the call,” Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, said in a statement provided to The Gazette. “We could not be prouder of Michael and his military brothers and sisters. Their commitment to protecting our freedom is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in America.”
Michael Haley is a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard. It will be his second active-duty deployment overseas since he joined the Guard as an officer in 2006. He previously deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand province with the National Guard from January to December 2013.
A person with knowledge of Michael Haley’s deployment told The Gazette on Wednesday that he will begin deployment in the coming weeks and likely remain deployed through spring 2024.
Details regarding the unit’s deployment ceremony were forthcoming, according to the person familiar with upcoming deployment, who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and requested to speak on background without being named.
According to the individual, the South Carolina National Guard this spring called officers with Michael Haley’s skill set to deploy in support of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).
Nikki Haley has been highly critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s competency as commander in chief as she campaigns for the White House. She has also pledged to make cuts in $46 billion in foreign aid to “countries that hate us.”
“I am running for president to restore our nation’s strength, our national pride and our people’s trust,” Haley wrote in a February op-ed. “Backing American allies and friends like Israel and Ukraine is smart. Sending our tax dollars to enemies isn’t.
“That’s why I will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us.“
Tim Scott headed back to western Iowa for Council Bluffs town hall
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, is headed back to western Iowa.
Scott will host a town hall Friday in Council Bluffs with Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra before joining Iowa GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines for Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser.
Eight announced or prospective GOP presidential candidates are slated to speak at the Des Moines event.
"I'm excited to be back in the Hawkeye State with my good friends and colleagues Randy Feenstra and Joni Ernst," Scott said in a statement. "Iowans are ready for an optimistic message grounded in conservative values."
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