Republicans and Democrats will gather at their party precinct caucuses Monday, Feb. 2 — not to weigh in on a presidential race, but to get organized ahead of what is expected to be a chaotic and competitive midterm year.
For Republican gubernatorial candidates facing a June 2 primary election, this year’s Iowa Caucuses present a chance to elevate their name ID among key party activists, gather signatures to get on the ballot and recruit supporters as they look to break away from the pack.
Some are also approaching the caucuses with an eye toward a contested convention — a mechanism for deciding the party’s nominee if no candidate in the June primary election clears 35% of the vote.
“This year, you know, that’s a very, very real possibility,” said Chuck Hurley, vice president of Christian conservative organization The Family Leader.
“For me, it’s just simple math,” he said. “If you have four, five, you know, six candidates in a race, you start dividing up the vote, because they each have people that support them.”
Five candidates are currently running for the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination: state Rep. Eddie Andrews, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, businessman Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former Department of Administrative Services director Adam Steen.
The Family Leader has not endorsed a candidate, Hurley said, although it’s a possibility.
Gary Leffler, a Polk County Republican activist, said he’s planning to attend his caucus with the goal of becoming a delegate in case the governor’s race goes to convention. He has endorsed Lahn in the race.
“If this goes to convention, yeah, you want to be able to support your guy. That’s 100%,” he said. “You want to be able to be there and be a voice and be able to support him.”
But he said he knows talk of the race being decided at a convention is early, and he expects the coming months to bring clarity to the race.
“It will be caucuses, and then the next 45 days, I think that the fog will clear a little bit and we’ll start to see that some people will break away from the pack and some people will fade,” Leffler said.
Regardless of whether the race goes to a convention, leaders of both parties touted the importance of caucusing in the off year to help boost their chances in November.
“The Iowa Caucus is a great opportunity for Republicans to gather together to elect party representatives and help shape the future and direction of the Republican Party of Iowa,” Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement. “Additionally, the Caucus plays a vital role in energizing our grassroots base as we prepare for an incredibly consequential midterm election.”
In a message to supporters posted to social media, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart encouraged Democrats to get involved in their caucuses to help get engaged for the year ahead.
“These in-person caucuses are a crucial opportunity for you to get involved and help organize to win up and down the ballot in 2026,” she said. “We have so much work to do, but we need you to show up at your caucus and connect with your friends and neighbors on how you want to help.”
The where and when for Feb. 2 Iowa Caucuses
Republicans and Democrats are scheduled to begin caucusing at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 2. Precinct locations are available on the party websites.
Some GOP governor campaigns say they’re thinking about possibility of a contested convention
Hurley has encouraged his group’s supporters to attend their caucuses by reminding them in a series of emails that they could play an outsized role in selecting the party’s nominee for governor if a convention becomes a reality.
In Iowa, if a candidate in a primary race can’t clear 35% of the vote, the nominee is selected by a group of delegates at the party’s convention.
The selection of those delegates begins on caucus night, with volunteers offering to serve first at the county level, then the district and ultimately the state level.
It’s a possibility for which Steen’s gubernatorial campaign is actively preparing.
“We want to be very active at caucus, because we know if this thing does go to convention, we want people represented at state convention who will support Adam Steen,” said Rob Peters, Steen’s campaign manager.
The selection of a nominee at convention is relatively rare, but the process is far different than an open election and can give way to unpredictable results based on the preferences of those delegates who happen to be serving.
In 2014, David Young won the Republican nomination in the 3rd District congressional race after finishing in fifth place in the primary election and after five rounds of voting at the convention. He later went on to win the general election.
Peters said Steen has been working since he got into the race last August to meet Republican activists, including those serving on their county party’s central committee, who are likely to be active at their local caucuses.
“These past few months, with a special emphasis in January, we were re-engaging many of those counties, especially those with the lion’s share of the delegate counts that will be represented at state convention, to just once again remind people what our message is and to continue to meet new people at some of these places,” Peters said.
Their volunteers have been phone banking and encouraging other supporters to attend the caucus.
Peters said the campaign intends to win the primary outright. But “if it’s close and goes to convention, we’ll have plenty of supporters there who are willing to back Adam.”
Ben Anderson, a spokesperson for Republican governor candidate Brad Sherman, said his campaign is also working to win the primary outright while also organizing around the caucuses.
Anderson said in a statement that the campaign is “working with a number of volunteers that have indicated willingness to become delegates to not only support Brad if it were to come down to a state convention vote, but they are inspired to become more involved in the party process overall.”
Currently, Feenstra is viewed as the race’s frontrunner. He is a sitting congressman with a large war chest, high name recognition among potential voters and a network of high-profile supporters.
It would be a significant upset if he were unable to hit the 35% benchmark.
But so far, Feenstra has been unable to clear the primary field, and he’s increasingly come under fire from party activists for opting out of forums and events that feature his primary opponents.
“I think there was a perception maybe a year ago or whatever, eight, nine months ago, that Randy might be able to sew this thing up early and keep others out of the race,” Hurley said. “But that has not happened. So yeah, I think there’s a very real possibility that, while he’s the frontrunner, he’s not the runaway frontrunner.”
Billy Fuerst, a spokesperson for Feenstra, said the campaign is not worried about the possibility of a contested convention.
He noted the campaign’s most recent fundraising report, which showed Feenstra easily leading the GOP field with $4.3 million in fundraising — more than the rest of the Republican field combined.
“We have the resources to win. We have the message to win. And our polling also confirms Congressman Feenstra is the commanding frontrunner in this primary election,” Fuerst said. “And again, he will be nominated in June to be the Republican nominee for governor of Iowa, and he will defeat extreme liberal Rob Sand with his common-sense conservative message.”
Caucuses offer campaigns key way to reach party activists, organizers
On social media, the Feenstra campaign has been promoting its “Caucus for Feenstra” efforts. It is encouraging supporters to speak on his behalf at their local precinct during a period when candidates or their representatives can make a pitch to caucusgoers.
Fuerst said the campaign will have “hundreds upon hundreds of people” set to speak for Feenstra on caucus night in a show of force for the congressman.
He said it’s important to have a presence at caucus precincts across the state because so many of the people who participate are deeply involved and are likely to vote in a primary election.
“That’s why we’ve invested time and resources in spreading our message, gathering signatures — because we also know in Iowa, neighbors talk to neighbors,” Fuerst said. “… And we’re going to make sure that what they heard is Congressman Feenstra wants to take Iowa to new heights and wants to cut and freeze property taxes, wants to lower health care costs, wants to deliver world-class education for Iowa kids and keep our kids right here in Iowa with great opportunities and great jobs.”
Especially in years when there is no presidential nomination, the caucuses are about getting the parties organized, submitting planks to be included in their platforms, getting people to sign up as delegates and getting them to commit to being involved with their local party apparatus.
It’s a large meeting of some of the most involved party activists, giving candidates a key opportunity to introduce themselves and get the word out about their campaigns.
Iowa Democrats urge caucus participation as they ramp up 2026 organizing
Democrats are also urging their supporters to turn up to caucus.
Hart said Democrats expect to be competitive across a number of races, including for governor, U.S. Senate and a trio of U.S. House seats, and the caucuses are one way to get volunteers and activists engaged.
“Donald Trump kicked off his midterm campaign here in Iowa for a reason,” she said, referencing the president’s Jan. 27 visit to Clive. “He knows that Republicans here are vulnerable.”
On a Jan. 29 episode of Iowa Press on Iowa PBS, House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer touted the party’s coming caucuses.
“The point is, is that you come together as a party and you say, these are our priorities moving forward, and you elect members to the central committees, and you just have conversations,” he said. “It’s kind of an old-fashioned way to bring people together to talk about politics. And I think it’s a wonderful system that we have.”
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: At GOP caucuses, governor campaigns eye possible contested convention
Reporting by Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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