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Campaign Almanac: Iowa Democrats to vote on caucus date Saturday
Also, Tim Scott launches new Iowa ads, economic plan
The Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee is scheduled to meet Saturday to vote on its in-person precinct caucus date.
Iowa Democrats have not yet settled on holding their caucuses on Jan. 15, the same date as Republicans.
“I'm not going to commit today,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said about the caucus date on Iowa PBS’ “Iowa Press” in August. “I think that is a consensus kind of decision. … We've said from the very beginning that we would have the caucuses on the same day as the Republicans. I certainly would like to see that we are able to do that."
National Democrats said they are continuing to work with Iowa Democrats on the Iowa caucus plan.
The Democratic National Committee Rules & Bylaws Committee met Thursday in Washington, D.C., to review state 2024 National Convention Delegate Selection plans, including plans deferred at the last meeting.
"We are continuing to work with the Iowa Democratic Party to navigate a system that complies with our calendar,“ Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chair James Roosevelt Jr. said.
The DNC in June found the plan non-compliant because it did not include dates when the Iowa Democratic Party would hold its caucus or end its mail-in presidential preference window.
Roosevelt said the Iowa Democratic Party will have additional updates ahead of the committee’s October meeting. The DNC and its committees are scheduled to meet Oct. 5-7 in St. Louis.
The DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee also voted to extend a waiver until Oct. 14 for the New Hampshire Democratic Party to fix its plan to comply with the DNC calendar. New Hampshire has not set a date for its primary, which has historically gone first.
The DNC approved a revised schedule early this year for presidential primaries in 2024, a plan that elevates South Carolina as the nation's first primary and removes the Iowa caucuses from the list of early contests.
Iowa's Republican caucuses, however, will remain the first presidential nominating contest in the nation, kicking off the 2024 primary process. Republican presidential candidates have been campaigning heavily in Iowa to win the support of the state's Republican voters.
Tim Scott launches new Iowa ads, economic plan
Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott released two new ads in Iowa this week.
The ads are part of an $8 million ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to Scott’s campaign.
The first ad, “Underdog,” focuses on welfare reform and will air statewide.
The second ad, “Parental Consent,” features Scott pledging to protect parental rights. The ad will air statewide on Fox News and in the Sioux City market on broadcast TV, Scott’s campaign said.
Scott on Thursday also unveiled an economic plan that aims to cut federal spending and make permanent tax cuts signed into law in 2017 by then-President Donald Trump, which Scott had a lead role in drafting.
Scott’s economic blueprint comes against the backdrop of a potential government shutdown as House Republicans members grapple with how to keep the government funded past September. It also follows new economic data released on Wednesday that showed inflation accelerated last month, driven largely by increasing fuel prices.
Scott’s plan includes:
- Cutting nondefense discretionary spending to pre-pandemic levels.
- Eliminating the federal estate tax (sometimes called the death tax).
- Stopping an increase in the top marginal income tax rate proposed by Democratic President Joe Biden that would have the wealthiest 0.01 percent of families paying a 25 percent tax rate.
- Creating stricter work requirements for programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps.
- Allowing expectant moms to claim the Child Tax Credit for their unborn children, and allowing Pell Grants to be used for short-term training programs at vocational and technical schools and community colleges.
Scott’s plan also calls for increasing domestic fuel production — including biofuel production — and approving the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and increasing oil and gas development on federal lands, which the Biden administration has opposed.
“I will champion ethanol and biofuels and support America’s farmers who are growing our way toward energy independence,” Scott said.
The pledge comes ahead of Scott’s trip to Iowa this weekend, including expected remarks at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Fall Banquet on Saturday alongside several other Republican presidential hopefuls.
Ron DeSantis launches Faith and Family Coalition
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday launched a national Faith and Family Coalition, which includes endorsements from 36 faith leaders in Iowa.
The launch comes as presidential candidates work to win over influential faith leaders and evangelical voters in the early primary state.
In 2016, Iowa caucus entrance poll results from the Washington Post found more than two-thirds of Republican caucusgoers self-identified as evangelicals.
"I am excited to join this Faith and Family Coalition and support Ron DeSantis for president because I know he will execute the same strong leadership in the White House as he’s done in Florida: protecting life, defending our right to worship, and defending religious liberties,“ Iowa State Rep. Jon Dunwell, a Republican and pastor from Newton, said in a statement.
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