Job number one for Iowa GOP head Jeff Kaufmann through January 15 is to ensure that the state’s Republican presidential caucuses go off without a hitch.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The long-serving leader of the Iowa Republican Party predicts “record turnout” when his state’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nomination calendar on January 15.
The Republican record was reached eight years ago, when nearly 186,000 people voted in a wide-open GOP caucus won by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
“I believe there is a chance for a record turnout.” In a recent Fox News Digital interview, Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann stated, “We’re going to be well above 100,000.”
Kaufmann cited what he described as a surge of new voters attending Republican presidential campaign rallies across Iowa.
“Regardless of the candidate, you come to these gatherings and ask how many people are going to caucus for the first time. “I’m seeing about a fourth to a third of the people raise their hands,” Kaufmann remarked. “That’s the unknown factor that makes it harder to predict, but it makes it wonderful as a party chair to know that we’re going to have even more registered Republicans.”
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Unlike most primary elections, the caucus is administered by the state party. And, as the clock approached caucus day, Kaufmann expressed his concerns.
“We have 1,657 precincts.” Almost 10,000 people volunteered. Anything can go wrong, but the point is to have stopgaps, double checks, and everything else in place to ensure that a process that large, that reliant on volunteer support, goes smoothly. So I don’t sleep for the next four weeks,” he told Fox News at a rally headlined by former President Donald Trump six days before Christmas.
“We feel good with where we’re at,” he added. Hundreds of caucus trainings are being held.”
Trump remains the overwhelming favorite in the Iowa Republican presidential caucus, with polls showing him with 50% or higher support. According to a FOX Business poll, Trump has 52% of the vote, far ahead of two close rivals: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (18%) and former UN ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (16%).
The Trump campaign’s ground game in Iowa is light years ahead of his work in 2016, when he narrowly lost the caucuses to Cruz.
“Ted Cruz won in 2016 because his ground game was fantastic,” Kaufmann, who is still undecided on the Republican candidacy, told Fox News.
In addition, referring to Trump’s 2024 campaign, Kaufmann stated that “their ground game has increased immensely.”
After losing to Cruz eight years ago, Trump said in an unsubstantiated allegation that “Cruz didn’t win Iowa.” He took it.”
It was a foreshadowing of things to come, as Trump has repeatedly claimed, without giving evidence, that his 2020 general election loss to President Biden was “rigged” with “massive voter fraud.”But Kaufmann is unconcerned about Trump’s allegation that the 2024 caucuses will be “rigged” if the former president fails to meet expectations.
“We have such an open process.” The ballots are counted in the actual room. “We report the votes in the actual room,” he said.
“The conversations I’ve had with the Trump campaign have not revolved at all around any kind of rigged elections or anything of that nature,” Kaufmann continued. In this state, we have some fantastic ground games right now. And Donald Trump has a fantastic ground game. That is what wins an Iowa caucus.”
