As Colorado moves to schedule its Republican caucus a month earlier than planned, GOP officials in Iowa are considering moving theirs up to preserve its first-in-the-nation status, the Des Moines Register reports.
Republicans in Colorado voted this weekend to move their caucus from March 6 to February 7. The Iowa caucuses are currently scheduled for February 6. Though Iowa officials insist they have no immediate plans to change the date, they also say they reserve the right to do so.
“The four sanctioned early states have been very clear that we’ll move together if necessary to ensure integrity of order as outlined in (Republican National Committee) rules,” Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn told the paper.
“Thus, the date of the Iowa caucuses may change, but its lead-off position will not. I remain cautiously optimistic that we can avoid having Iowans caucus while simultaneously wrapping Christmas presents.”
Arizona, Florida and Michigan have also considered moving up their primary dates to gain more leverage in the Republican nominating process next year. The Republican National Committee has set this weekend as the deadline for states to schedule their primaries or caucuses.