In case you missed it,
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters touted
the key role Iowa will play ahead of the midterms and 2028
election.
RNC Chair Joe Gruters expects Iowa to be 'number one' for GOP in
2028
Des Moines Register
August 12, 2026
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watch full interview
"The road to the
presidency starts here in Iowa…The fact that the Democrats just voted to remove
Iowa from the primary calendar versus what we did. I put Chairman (Jeff)
Kaufmann, your Republican Party of Iowa chairman, front and center. He's the chairman
of our primary calendar. That's how much we value Iowa."
[…]
"Iowa is first in our
hearts and our minds, and listen, they've done a great job. We love Iowa,"
[Gruters] said. "So, yeah, the fact that Kaufmann is in charge of that
committee, I would almost guarantee you that Iowa remains number one on the
Republican side."
[…]
"Look, the Democrat
Party hates Iowa," Gruters said. "Think about what they just did with
the primary calendar. You know, the fact that they didn't even make you guys
number one in the Midwest… I don't even know what number you are, but they
don't care enough about Iowa. They don't think that Iowa represents the overall
core Democrat values and voters."
[…]
'The road to keeping the
majority is Iowa'
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watch full interview
Gruters said Iowa is also an
important battleground this year, casting the state as central to Republicans'
attempts to hold the U.S. House and Senate in the November midterm elections.
"I will tell you as
chairman, the road to keeping the majority is Iowa," [Gruters] said.
"You know, I tell people all the time, go to the Cook Political
Report. You can see there's 18 toss-up seats. Two of those seats are right here
in Iowa, but also it says we have 212 seats that we should win. So that means
we only need to win six of those toss-up seats. And so that means 33% of the
seats that we need are right here, right here in Iowa."
He praised Iowa's U.S. Reps.
Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who are running for reelection in the
toss-up 3rd and 1st Districts, as well as 2nd District U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson,
the Republican Party's nominee for U.S. Senate.
"I think our success
long term will be the fact that we have candidate quality on our side and we
have these candidates that are working hard, represent their constituents
well," [Gruters] said.
He criticized Iowa's
Democratic candidates as part of the "crazy radical left," for their
stances on transgender participation in sports and access to bathrooms that
match their gender identity.
"The bottom line is, do
we want common sense and the chance at the American dream? Or do you want crazy
and communism?" he said.
[…]
RNC supporting Iowa Republicans in lawsuit over absentee ballot signature
matching
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watch full interview
The RNC is supporting the
Republican Party of Iowa in a lawsuit seeking to restore Iowa's signature
verification requirements for absentee ballots.
[…]
Gruters said one of the
first things Trump asked him when he appointed Gruters as RNC chair was
"you've got to make sure we make these elections safe and secure."
"We're bringing the
absolute hammer down to make sure that these elections are going to be in a way
where everybody can have confidence in the system," [Gruters] said.
