The United States’ 2024 election cycle officially begins Jan. 15 in Gary and Sharon McNutt’s home on Main Street in Silver City, Iowa.
About 30 Republican voters from their precinct in southwest Iowa’s Mills County are expected to caucus in the family room, Sharon McNutt told The Epoch Times.
“It’s going to be really cold. Hopefully, we can have the snow all scooped and have things settled by then,” she said.
The McNutts’ family room will be among about 730 sites where Iowa’s 719,000 registered Republicans can cast ballots for their preferred presidential candidate in more than 1,650 precinct-level GOP simultaneous caucuses across the state’s 99 counties.
Iowa’s 631,689 registered Democrats, meanwhile, are conducting their preliminary vote entirely by mail-in ballot. They will release results on March 5, “Super Tuesday.” The state’s 700,000-plus unaffiliated voters cannot participate in party caucuses.
The caucuses, some with as few as a dozen people, all begin at 7 p.m. In Polk County, which includes Des Moines, 176 precincts will caucus at 107 sites. In 28 counties, all precincts will convene at a single site, including all 22 Wapello County precincts at Ottumwa High School in Ottumwa.
Caucuses will unfold in more than 400 public and private schools and colleges simultaneously, such as in a high school’s band room, cafeteria, auditorium, and classrooms.
Caucuses for one or more precincts will be staged in 24 city or town halls, 16 American Legion posts, seven fire departments, five hotels, three banks, numerous retail businesses, and private clubs such as The Rotary in Cedar Falls, Masonic Lodge in Stanwood, and Lincoln Club in Glidden.
A GOP precinct in northeast Iowa’s Chickasaw County will caucus at The Pub at the Pinicon in New Hampton, where the Backwater Bar has been a political hot spot for 60 years. A Clinton County precinct in east Iowa will vote in the backroom at Buzzy’s Tap in Welton, owned for nearly 40 years by longtime fire chief Jerry “Buzzy” Wiese.
Nearby, another Clinton County caucus will convene behind Lee Stofer’s shop in Camanche.
“In true Iowa fashion, we’re going to have it in a barn,” Mr. Stofer told The Epoch Times. “And in true Iowa fashion, everyone is welcome as long as they behave.”
Mr. Stofer, who played tuba, euphonium, trombone, and bass during a 22-year career with the U.S. Army band, said he expects “about 20 people.”
“Bring a coat,” he said. The barn isn’t heated, and subzero temperatures are in the forecast, which is why he said he expects it to be over with “within an hour.”
Platform Planks Also on Tap
The doors open at 6 p.m.“We’ll put out coffee, apple cider, donuts. The caucus is at 7 p.m. and we’ll commence with business,” Mr. Stofer said.
That “business” begins with “one of the more interesting, exciting things that will happen” with caucusgoers submitting proposed “planks for the party platform” before “going to the straw poll” to begin the presidential caucus votes, he said.
Proposed planks won’t be debated during the caucus, he said, but will be deliberated at March’s Clinton County GOP and June’s state Republican Convention.
“I like the process,” Mr. Stofer said, adding that he enjoys building the platform and electing candidates. He said it keeps him guessing how things will turn out.
All major Republican presidential candidates “have made the rounds” in Clinton County, Mr. Stofer said, adding that he has spoken with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
“It’s still a little early. I am still fact-finding,” he said before adding it was “interesting hearing fresh ideas” from Mr. Ramaswamy. He never mentioned former President Donald Trump but said he doesn’t regret missing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“[He] has done some amazing things for Florida. Being as big and as important as Florida is, he should keep doing that,” Mr. Stofer said, adding, “I will support the Republican candidate no matter who.”
Like his Army career, hosting a caucus is an honorable duty, he said.
“I am in there helping make the process work and work well.”
He said that he “may be as conservative as the day is long” but will gladly update voter registrations “for Democrats and Republicans alike.”
Local Gatherings, National Consequences
Clinton County Republicans will also caucus at “Dennis Campbell’s shop” in Grand Mound, otherwise known as Crystal Creek Enterprises LLC, owned by sixth-generation farmer Dennis Campbell. Ms. Haley drove a combine there during a September stump appearance.Republicans will meet in the Kingston Steakhouse in Cedar Rapids, G&S Construction in Oskaloosa, Otter Creek Golf in Ankeny, and the Chicaqua Bottom Greenbelt Longhouse in Maxwell.
In Hills, population 863, Republicans in southeast Iowa’s Johnson County will caucus at Stutsman’s Retail Center, which sells agricultural products and services in east Iowa.
“There aren’t many places big enough in Hills” to accommodate such an event, owner Mark Stutsman said.
The retail center has been used by Republicans to caucus “three or four times” with “anywhere from five to 25” people participating, he said.
Mr. Stutsman said he has “no idea” how many will show Jan. 15 but that he expects the caucus to last “probably an hour.”
It’s “an honor and privilege” to contribute to the electoral process, he said. “It’s just civic responsibility to open our doors and provide a place where people can meet and talk.”
In northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County, eight precincts will assemble at four sites, including at “Larry Sundblad’s Shop” in Sioux Rapids.
It will be the shop’s second caucus, according to Mary Sundblad, a county GOP committee member. The sparsely populated precinct spans “three little tiny towns,” she said.
The Last Home Caucus
For the previous caucus, “maybe a dozen” showed, while “2016 was huge,” Ms. Sundblad said. The 2016 caucus was at a school “and we were lined up outside the door”; the crowd led the committee to break the precincts into four caucus sites in 2020.“Larry Sundblad’s Shop” is not a business but a “hobby shop” that her late husband, Larry, built to work on “old street hot rods” and tractors; it’s notable for its collection of gas station pumps dating back to the 1930s, she said.
The shop served for years as a meeting place for civic groups, Bible studies, and the Buena Vista County Historical Society, Ms. Sundblad said.
She said she expects “maybe” 50 people. “We’re hoping for more,” she added, noting that in looking through voter rolls, she doesn’t recognize many names.
“A lot more people are registered for this election” than years ago, Ms. Sundblad said, which makes her uncertain what turnout to expect. “I’m rounding up chairs.”
All pitches are welcome but, in gauging neighbors’ views, but she said there’s little possibility that anyone other than the former president will win her precinct’s caucus.
“I’m a Trump supporter, but I’m going to be respectful of people with all opinions,” she added.
Although observers are welcome, only Republicans registered in the precinct can participate and that means observers would not be allowed to speak during the caucus, Ms. Sundblad said.
2020 was not the first time she provided caucus space; she said she “sited” Democratic caucuses in the 1960s and 1970s.
“They were small, neighborly gatherings of eight to 10 people,” Ms. Sundblad said. She said she flipped parties in the 1990s because of President Bill Clinton.
In Mills County’s Silver City, Ms. McNutt, co-chair of the Mills County Republican Committee, said they‘ll put out cookies and coffee. More than 50 showed up in her family room for 2016’s caucus. If that happens again, they’ll “squeeze everybody in with their big coats,” she said.
She added that the process usually “goes pretty smoothly” and should take less than an hour.
The McNutts have hosted caucuses in their home since 2002, when dozens statewide were staged in peoples’ houses.
“I think we may be the only ones still doing it,” she said.
