(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Democratic Party is conducting a survey to gauge whether Iowa Democrats favor hosting Caucuses at the start of the 2028 presidential campaign — no matter what. At President Biden’s urging, national party leaders forbid Iowa Democrats from continuing their tradition of holding first-in-the-nation Caucuses in 2024. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says the Biden Calendar was a big mistake.

(as said) “To know that Iowa Republicans are going first here in this state and that, as Democrats we sat and watched all this attention and the millions of dollars being spent in the state,” Hart said. “…And that did not help us here in Iowa and it did not help us…for the national Democratic cause.” Hart says when she was reelected Iowa Democratic Party chair in January, she promised a family conversation about Iowa’s role in the next presidential campaign.

(as said) “My job is to bring Iowa Democrats together,” Hart said, “and that is the aim of this survey.” Scott Brennan of Des Moines, a member of the Democratic National Committee, expects the party’s national chairman to announce next week when states can make their official pitch to go first in 2028. However, Brennan says while Iowans are typically rule followers, he and others in the party are prepared to “go rogue” and ignore party dictates.

(as said) “The DNC does not control us,” Brennan said, “and we control our own destiny, whatever that looks like.” Some Democrats have said the Caucuses divert the party’s attention from local candidates and Iowa races. Hart says making Iowa a competitive, two-party state again is her primary goal.

(as said) “We’ve got to keep our sights on 2026,” Hart said. “If and win when we win some races in 2026, that going to help us all in what we find out from this survey are our priorities going forward.” Hart will be hosting regional town hall events to discuss the survey and the survey questions are posted on the Iowa Democratic Party’s website. Iowans who’ve participated in the caucuses or plan to do so in the future have ’til November 15th to respond to the survey. Iowa Democratic Party leaders will discuss the results at a meeting in December.