Iowa Democrats and Republicans will be holding Caucuses on Monday night, starting at 7 p.m. The meetings allow local candidates to meet with the party’s local voters and elect the precinct residents who’ll attend each party’s county conventions. Party platform ideas are also discussed. These mid-term Iowa Caucuses don’t get as much attention as the Caucuses that have kicked off presidential campaigns in the past. Iowa Republicans appear positioned to start the 2028 presidential election with the Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses. Iowa Democrats were kicked out of the lead-off spot in 2024 — and have applied to national party leaders to regain an early voting contest in the next presidential election. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart says no other state has the infrastructure and the history of giving long-shot candidates like Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama a chance.
“In our application we highlight the unique flexibility of our party-run Caucus process and like we have in past cycles we commit to exploring ways to grow participation and access,” Hart said. “I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: All options are on the table for Iowa Democrats in 2028.”
Hart says the national party must reconnect with rural voters and Iowa is the place where that can start.
“If the Democratic Party wants to start winning big, sustainable majorities again, our candidates need to show that they can compete in states like Iowa,” Hart said.
A group of Democratic National Committee members are scheduled to meet this Saturday, January 31st to begin considering which cluster of states should be selected to hold the first voting events of the 2028 presidential campaign.
This story courtesy Radio Iowa: https://www.radioiowa.com/2026/01/30/2026-iowa-caucuses-are-monday-night-as-idp-seeks-early-2028-spot/
