Campaign Almanac: Guess who’s coming to dinner? Iowa GOP announces final Lincoln Day presidential candidate lineup

The Republican Party of Iowa announced the final lineup for this month’s Lincoln Dinner, which will be the largest gathering of Republican presidential candidates in Iowa to date.

The fundraiser will feature nearly every Republican presidential contender in the field:

Candidates will speak to the gathering of Iowa Republicans as they seek to gain their support ahead of the first-in-the-nation 2024 GOP caucuses.

The only major candidate not attending is former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has largely stayed out of Iowa since announcing his candidacy, focusing his efforts instead in New Hampshire, which will hold the first primary election.

The Lincoln Dinner fundraiser, hosted by Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, will be held on Friday, July 28, at the Iowa Events Center. Tickets range from $150 to $10,000, with the higher prices granting access to a separate “host reception.”

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Pro-Pence super PAC attacks Trump on Russia

A super PAC supporting former Vice President Mike Pence's presidential campaign launched a new ad Thursday in Iowa attacking former President Donald Trump's past praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The 30-second spot, titled “Strength,” calls out Trump for being an “apologist for thugs and dictators,” including Putin and Kim, according to a news release.

The ad shows a headline about comments Trump made in February 2022 describing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy.”

The ad also shows a photo of Trump shaking hands with the North Korean leader, in addition to a post from Trump congratulating Kim after North Korea joined the World Health Organization executive board.

“America doesn’t stand with thugs and dictators. We confront them — or at least, we used to,” a narrator says in the ad.

“There can be no room in the leadership of the Republican Party for apologists for Putin. There can only be room for champions of freedom,” the former vice president can later be heard saying in the ad in a clip from remarks he made at an event.

The new ad will run on Fox News and digital platforms in Iowa over the next 10 days as part of a $150,000 buy, according to a news release.

The ad comes days after Pence became the first 2024 GOP presidential hopeful to travel to Ukraine and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express solidarity and support for Ukraine and its people in its fight against Russia.

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Tim Scott releases new Iowa ad

Republican president candidate and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott released a new ad Thursday in Iowa criticizing President Joe Biden and his administration over gender-inclusive policies and others that seek to advance racial equality.

Scott, who is one of only 11 Black lawmakers to have served in the U.S. Senate and the only Republican currently in the Senate, has made his diverging views and unwavering optimism about racism in America central to his campaign for the presidency.

Scott has presented himself as living proof of the progress that America has made in allowing anyone to prosper, regardless of race or background. On the campaign trail, Scott talks about being raised by a poor, single mother and then going to become the first Black senator elected from the South since Reconstruction.

He went on ABCs daytime talk show “The View” last month to debate his view that America is not a racist country and tussled with hosts over how much progress the U.S. has made on addressing racial inequality.

Former President Barack Obama, the nation’s first and only Black president, also criticized Scott’s optimistic tone on race, stating in a podcast interview with his former White House senior adviser David Axelrod that Scott’s hopeful message “has to be undergirded with an honest accounting of our past and our present.”

Scott, in the new ad, title “Winning,” criticizes Biden and the “radical left” over education policies he claims "are indoctrinating our children“ into believing ”everybody is a victim.“

“Teaching CRT instead of ABC,” Scott adds, referring to the besieged academic framework that says racism is systemic, and “punishing excellence by eliminating honors classes, and promoting a transgender ideology that’s ruining women’s sports.”

It is part of a larger $6 million ad buy his campaign announced in May. The ad is airing on broadcast TV in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Sioux City markets and statewide on Fox News and satellite TV, according to Scott’s campaign.

Scott will be back in Iowa July 14 to speak at the Christian conservative Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines.