Campaign Almanac: 9 presidential hopefuls to speak at Iowa GOP Lincoln Dinner

The Republican Party of Iowa announced Friday that nine presidential hopefuls will be among the speakers at this year’s Lincoln Dinner fundraiser.

The event, which reliably draws presidential candidates seeking the support of Republican caucusgoers, will be held at 5 p.m. July 28 in Des Moines.

To date, the list of speakers include former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, talk show host Larry Elder and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson

“You don’t want to miss it, we need you there,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a Twitter video posted by Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. “This is the opportunity to hear from some great Republican candidates that are vying to be the next president of the United States of America.”

Among declared candidates, only former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley are not on the list, though more speakers could be announced ahead of the event.

The event presents an opportunity for candidates to speak to a large crowd of Republican voters six months ahead of the expected date of the 2024 first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Iowa Democratic Party hires new staff

The Iowa Democratic Party announced new top staff hires on Friday, saying the hires make the party “fully staffed and ready to support Democratic candidates and values.”

Kevin Sobkoviak was hired as the party’s finance director. Sobkoviak has worked on several Democratic campaigns for governor and Senate.

Paige Godden, a former Iowa journalist, was hired as the communications director. Godden worked for newspapers in western Iowa before joining the left-leaning Iowa Starting Line. She was former U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne’s communications director until 2023.

Dawson McNamara-Bloom, a former staffer for Democratic Florida U.S. Rep. Annette Taddeo, was hired as the party’s rapid response director.

Raising funds and adding new staff was a goal set by Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart in her bid to become the party’s chief earlier this year. The new hires, she said In a statement, will help the party win elections.

“When I was elected as chair, I said my focus is squarely on helping the party win elections again,” she said. “With these three new hires, the Iowa Democratic Party is now fully staffed, and I’m confident that this new IDP team will be unstoppable.”