After scores of Iowa visits, most presidential hopefuls officially not running

DES MOINES - Since the 2012 presidential election, a gaggle of Republicans has made about 100 visits to Iowa to talk about the nation's challenges and say what each would do if chosen president.

But so far only one, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has visited Iowa nine times, has actually admitted to being a presidential candidate. He will make his 10th visit as part of a statewide tour April 1.

On the Democratic side, Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and others have made 21 visits. But none of them are yet running for president - not officially, anyway.

Despite their appearances, most have been waiting to declare their candidacy for a variety of reasons including campaign finance regulations, deadlines for reporting fundraising and, in some cases, just the right moment.

By maintaining non-candidate status, the presidential hopefuls are able to raise more money and disclose less about it. Rather than follow Federal Election Commission rules on how much their campaign committees can raise, the non-candidates can raise money through political action committees, then circle back to the same donors once they officially become candidates.

'Once you formally announce, that triggers a certain set of campaign finance and other such regulations,” Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford said. 'So as a non-candidate, you get the best of both worlds. People expect you to become a candidate, but you are not subject to certain kinds of reporting regulations.”

Non-candidate candidates have more flexibility, 'so people are cagey about it,” added University of Iowa political scientist Tim Hagle.

'Cagey” means that despite hiring staff and renting office space, the non-candidates are taking pains to make sure they don't cross the line into candidacy.

'I want to win,” Jeb Bush, who jokes about using 'legal terminology so as not to trigger a campaign,” said in Cedar Rapids before quickly correcting himself. 'I mean, I want our party to win.”

And Clinton's often repeated, 'If I choose to run …” line has been the basis for a Saturday Night Live skit.

There's also some old-fashioned political strategy, Hagle said.

'At one level, we joke about people testing the waters even though we are pretty sure they are going to get in, but there is a genuine part to that,” Hagle said. After visiting Iowa and New Hampshire, some may decide 2016 isn't their year.

There's a general strategy 'to get a feel for who else is going to get in and what their strategy is,” Hagle said.

Also, by waiting until April, the 2016 hopefuls avoid the FEC's March fundraising reporting deadline.

So April could bring a shower of announcements. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul plans to announce April 7 and there have been indications Clinton also will announce next month.

On the other hand, by being the first in, Hagle said, Cruz 'certainly gets media attention for the first week or so or until someone else gets into the race.”

It means that 'instead of so-and-so talked to so-and-so at a Pizza Ranch, Cruz will get something a little bit bigger,” Goldford said.

He called the non-candidate, testing-the-water period a part of the drama of presidential campaigns.

'At least in a symbolic sense, you are submitting yourself to the judgment of potential voters as to whether in fact you should be a candidate,” he said. 'It's a certain kind of political humility even if it is a calculated kind of political humility.”