13 candidates will speak at major Iowa Republican fundraiser

More than a dozen Republican presidential contenders will converge in Des Moines on Friday for the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner, the biggest gathering of the 2024 field in Iowa so far.

The event will feature 13 candidates who are looking for the support of Iowa Republicans in the 2024 presidential precinct caucuses.

Who is speaking?

Beginning at 6 p.m., each candidate will get 10 minutes to speak to the crowd of 1,200 in the Iowa Events Center. The speaking order is as follows:

The only major candidate missing from the lineup is former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has not campaigned in Iowa, instead focusing efforts on New Hampshire, the first primary state, which will hold its primary shortly after Iowa’s caucuses.

The annual event is a major fundraiser for the Iowa GOP, and in presidential election years regularly draws candidates hoping to secure support in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Tickets, which cost at least $150, are sold out, according to the event’s website.

“With over 1,200 guests and 13 presidential candidates in attendance, this year’s Lincoln Dinner is going to be historic by marking the official kickoff for the 2024 caucus cycle to begin in earnest,” Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement.

Iowa Democrats said the event would showcase candidates embracing far-right policies “in desperate attempts to win over the MAGA base within their party.”

“As Democrats focus on strengthening the middle-class and protecting Americans’ freedoms, this field is busy fighting over who can propose the most extreme agenda of abortion bans and handouts to the ultrawealthy,” said Iowa Democratic Party Rapid Response Director Dawson McNamara-Bloom in a statement.

The after-parties

Following the main program, several candidates will host individual reception suites where attendees can mingle with other supporters and meet with the candidates.

“Iowa voters can expect to see Nikki at our suite and enjoy our campaign's Southern hospitality when they get there,” said Haley spokesperson Ken Farnaso.

Ryan Binkley will offer food and drinks in his suite, and will give further remarks and host a Q&A later in the evening, a campaign spokesperson said.

Other candidates hosting suites include Trump, Burgum, Johnson, Pence, Ramaswamy, Scott and Suarez.

Voters get access, party gets dollars

The event will give Republican voters a chance to hear the pitch from nearly every major Republican candidate as they weigh who to support in the caucuses, said Polk County GOP Chair Gloria Mazza.

“To have them all together gives voters a chance to see them all at one time, without going to lots of events all over to find them,” she said. “They can do one-on-ones, but these are nice also. It’s just another way, and it’s what Iowa does best.”

The event also is a major revenue driver for the state party as it prepares to conduct the hundreds of precinct caucuses across 99 counties in January, Mazza said.

Vice President Kamala Harris to hold dueling event

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Iowa on Friday as well to hold an event focused on abortion rights, the Des Moines Register first reported.

She will highlight the effects of a six-week abortion ban Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law this month, which is blocked from taking effect by a district court. The Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request to review the temporary injunction on the law.

The event will be held in her official capacity as vice president, but Democratic National Committee spokesperson Ammar Moussa said it will offer a contrast to the messages offered at the Republican fundraiser.

“It’s a pretty stark split-screen,” Moussa said. “The vice president is coming to Iowa to speak to providers and highlight the huge ramifications of Iowa’s abortion ban, while Republicans are going to be gathering later that night to, essentially, celebrate the abortion bans made possible by Donald Trump.”

Candidates hold events around Lincoln Dinner

Republican candidates also plan to hold events around the state in the days before and after the Lincoln Dinner.

DeSantis will appear in a bus tour hosted by the super PAC backing his candidacy, Never Back Down. The PAC will hold events in Chariton, Osceola and Oskaloosa between Thursday and Friday.

Scott will hold a town hall in Ankeny, alongside Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, on Thursday, and Trump will join campaign organizers for the opening of his Iowa campaign headquarters on Friday evening, shortly before he takes the stage at the Iowa Events Center.