The Republican Party of Iowa scheduled its first-in-the-nation caucus for January 15, 2024, it announced on Saturday.
January 15, 2024, falls on a Monday, which also happens to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday. The January 15 date is about three weeks earlier than its contests in 2016 and 2021 but two weeks later than 2012 and 2008’s schedule, Politico reported.
The Iowa GOP’s announcement comes as former President Donald Trump maintains a commanding 23-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among Iowa Republicans.
As Breitbart News reported:
Trump received 44 percent support in the latest National Research Inc. survey of Iowa Republican primary voters. These numbers give Trump a 23-point advantage over DeSantis, who received 21 percent support in the poll.
DeSantis is polling five points lower than he did before officially entering the presidential race. A May survey found 26 percent of Iowa Republicans supported DeSantis. Then, a June poll taken weeks after his presidential announcement found his support dipped to 24 percent.
In comparison, Trump’s 44 percent brings him back to where he was polling in May, after dipping to 39 percent in June.
Trump campaigned in Iowa on Friday and accused DeSantis of being a “globalist sellout” and a “Paul Ryan and Karl Rove acolyte who is in the pocket of Wall Street donors at the Club for No Growth.”
“Iowa also needs to know that Ron DeSanctus totally despises Iowa ethanol and ethanol generally,” Trump told a crowd of 2,000 supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa. “He’s been fighting it for years. Don’t forget, as a congressman he was voting against it, and fighting for years to kill every single job.”
The second primary contest of the season in New Hampshire is likely to take place on January 23, according to Politico. The January dates for Iowa and New Hampshire’s contests would leave a gap between other states’ elections, as the South Carolina Republican Party scheduled its primary for February 24.
Historically, Iowa Republicans and Democrats have held their caucuses on the same date. But in an effort to bolster President Joe Biden’s election, the Democrat National Committee decided to make the South Carolina primary the first contest of the season, upending decades of tradition.
South Carolina’s Democrat primary is scheduled for February 3.
As Politico reported:
The Democratic National Committee, in picking South Carolina to go first and both Nevada and New Hampshire to follow second, has said Iowa would not be in compliance with its delegate rules if it holds caucuses on Jan. 15, nor would New Hampshire’s state-run primary if it was held on Jan. 23.
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said he is “committed to maintaining Iowa’s cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses,” in a statement.
Kaufmann said:
After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats’ plans to derail the Iowa Caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honor our half-century-old promises to the other carveout states.
“We remain committed to maintaining Iowa’s cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024,” Kaufmann added.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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