Election 2016: Iowa trips ramp up for GOP politicos

It seems like the grueling 2012 Presidential election season was just put behind us. Oh wait, it was. Here we go again. Via MSN News:

Sen. Ted Cruz will headline a high-profile GOP fundraiser in Iowa in October as the jockeying for the next presidential candidacy begins to get more obvious.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas will be the star speaker at the Iowa Republican Party’s annual Ronald Reagan Dinner in October, which along with his frequent trips to the state has sparked speculation that he will run for president in 2016.

Cruz visited Iowa – a key state in the presidential primary – in July for a state GOP summer picnic and will be there again this weekend to speak to conservative Christians at a Family Leader summit in Ames, the Des Moines Register reported.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who made an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2012, also will speak at the dinner. Billionaire mogul Donald Trump, who may be exploring a presidential run, also will be speaking.

“Senator Cruz has quickly become nationally recognizable as someone who came to Washington to truly shake things up,” Iowa GOP Chairman A.J. Spiker said in a statement Monday. “Cruz has been a tremendous leader in holding the Obama administration accountable for the out-of-control debt and spending problems we face today. We are both honored and ecstatic to be having him keynote our fall Reagan Dinner.”

The dinner, which is held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, is one of the Iowa GOP’s largest events and has served as a platform for other GOP presidential hopefuls in the past.

Senator Rubio’s hasn’t been to Iowa since shortly after the 2012 election – and then it was for a birthday party for Republican governor Terry Branstad, and I haven’t seen any reports putting Gov. Christie in Iowa this year as of yet (but there have been polls pitting Hillary against Christie in Iowa). But both Senator Rand Paul (KY) has, while Gov. Jindal (LA) gave a speech in New Hampshire in May.

Dunno about you guys, but I’m not really ready for another round just yet, but I guess we’ll have to be. These things get unofficially cranked up even before the dust settles from the previous presidential election. At this stage, any early favorites for any of you? There is a little something to like about all of them, but this early on I can’t say I have locked in on a personal “favorite” to win the nomination. It seems like we’ve got a long time to go, but in reality we don’t, considering how Democrats are already targeting potential nominees in speeches and talking head show commentary.

Thoughts?

Ballot box — And the GOP/Democrat party presidential nominees will be …?

5 Responses to "Election 2016: Iowa trips ramp up for GOP politicos"

Phineas says:

August 6, 2013 at 12:42 pm

I have my preferences, but, to be honest, I’ll vote for any of the major contenders over any Democrat, unless the Democrats somehow bring back Grover Cleveland.

But, of the current leading/most talked about Republican contenders, my top six (for now) are:

1. Bobby Jindal. A successful governor, good conservative principles, and darned smart.

2. Scott Walker. Another successful governor. Pushed through reforms in the state that gave birth to government unions. Solid as the rock of Gibraltar in the face of fascist union intimidation tactics.

3) Ted Cruz. I love Cruz. He has all the right principles. But I’m leery of promoting another freshman senator to the White House

4) Paul Ryan. Again, really smart, knows government finance in and out, and is a strong advocate of “opportunity capitalism” in the Jack Kemp mold. His advocacy of the current immigration reform bill is a down-mark for me, though.

5) Rand Paul. Again, I like him a lot for his small government conservatism, his ardor to limit the federal government, and his knowledge of and respect for the American political tradition. His foreign policy and national security policies give me pause, though.

6) Chris Christie. I like his style and I like his fiscal conservatism. On other issues, though… Let’s just say he’s a Northeastern Republican, and I’m not.

This is just a quick list, though, and nowhere near set in stone.

PS: You’ll note Marco Rubio is no longer on the list, yet I had been a big supporter of his. The immigration fight made me rethink that support; either he was a utterly cynical hypocrite from before he ran for the Senate, or he’s a naive fool who was played by Schumer and McCain. I don’t know which it is, but he’s going to have to do a lot to make me consider him again.
God help us: the 2016 presidential race is on | Public Secrets says:

August 6, 2013 at 2:01 pm

[…] are already jockeying for position. On the Republican side, my blog biddy ST has a good post about potential candidates appearing in Iowa, a state that we, for some reason I cannot fathom, allow to have a huge influence […]
Sefton says:

August 6, 2013 at 5:27 pm

Emperor Palpatine already has Hillary chosen for the Empire.
Drew the Infidel says:

August 6, 2013 at 10:08 pm

I’m with you Sister. I still relish as a fond memory from 2012 that little girl in the YouTube video throwing a crying fit that every time she turned on the TV, there was “Bronco Bama”. It may seem early but the commiecrats, including ol’ “Bronco”, set the tone by beginning to beat the Shrillary drum months ago.

Also, I would not be too quick in counting out Rick Perry.

If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.
Lorica says:

August 8, 2013 at 1:38 pm

The immigration fight made me rethink that support; either he was a utterly cynical hypocrite from before he ran for the Senate, or he’s a naive fool who was played by Schumer and McCain.

Agreed!! Rubio was very high on the list, but now isn’t even a consideration. I am sorry but he is being used by McCain and Schumer and as far as I am concerned I will stay home if he is the candidate. I agree about Cruz, plus I prefer Governors over Senators or Congressmen.

Honestly I would like to see Dr. Ben Carson on this list. I have heard some of his speeches lately and he is such a good man, and so damn smart. Listened to him give an speech a couple of weeks back that was over an hour, without a teleprompter, and this man has such an incredible story. He has a great head on his shoulders, he amazes me. – Lorica

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