Iowa GOP chair urges Democrats for in-person 2028 caucus, warns of status loss

Iowa – Democrats are being urged by Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann to pledge to host an in-person caucus in 2028.

Kaufmann expresses concern that if Iowa keeps using the mail-in method, its status as the First in the Nation may be in danger once more.

Iowa Democrats, according to Kaufmann, ought to have stood up to the DNC this year and kept Iowa in the lead.

“All you have to do is look at the New Hampshire Democrats,” says Kaufmann. “If you want to see a democratic party that chose their state over their party -go to New Hampshire. So Yes, and I’m not only saying that’s what they should have done. I’m telling you exactly what I would have done.”

Democrats indicated on Tuesday that they will keep talking about how the process would look in 2028, but they did not say whether or not they will return to their in-person caucus.
Rita Hart, the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, says she does have some suggestions for how to make the mail-in procedure better.

Hart says, “I think it would be very beneficial and we would have more participation if we were able to send out these presidential preference card requests to every registered Democrat in Iowa. I think it would be better for people if we had drop boxes. It think we’ve learned something about how to make this more accessible for folks who are not tuned into the internet.”

The results of the mail-in campaign, which saw about 12,000 Iowans participate, Kaufmann says contradict the assertions made by Iowa Democrats that they intended to involve more Iowans.

He mentions the Republican 2020 Caucus, which attracted over 30,000 participants despite having an incumbent candidate.