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 McNutt’s 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 same-day 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 March 5, ‘Super Tuesday.’ The state’s 700,000-plus unaffiliated voters cannot participate in party caucuses,.
The caucuses, some with a 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/private schools and colleges simultaneously, such as in a high school’s band room, cafeteria, auditorium, and classrooms.
Caucuses for one of more precincts will be staged in 24 city/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 stove 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 long-time 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.”
The barn is behind Lee Stofer Music, where he sells musical instruments, repairs instruments, offers lessons, and lives with his wife, whose family has owned the “heritage farm” since 1853.
Mr. Stofer, who played tuba, euphonium, trombone, and bass during a 22-year career with the U.S. Army band, expects “about 20 people.”
“Bring a coat,” he said. The barn isn’t heated and subzero temperatures are forecast, which is why 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 caucus-goers 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, noting he enjoys building the platform and electing candidates. “It keeps me guessing” how things will turn out.
All major Republican presidential candidates “have made the rounds” in Clinton County, Mr. Stofer said, noting he has spoken with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramasawamy 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 Mr. Trump but said he doesn’t regret missing Mr. 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. I may be as conservative as the day is long” but “will cheerfully” update voter registrations “for Democrats and Republicans alike.”
Local Gatherings, National Impact
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. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley drove a combine there during a September stump.
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 as 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 has “no idea” how many will show Jan. 15 but 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,” he said.
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, said Mary Sundblad, a county GOP committee member. The sparsely populated precinct spans “three little tiny towns,” she said.
“I’m 77-years-old and I like to sit in my chair and read my books but somebody needs to do something,” she told The Epoch Times. “I feel so honored to be the first in the nation to vote in this election. I want to do my part. I’m a patriot. It would be a shame not to do that.”
The Last Home Caucus
For the last 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” it was so crowded, prompting the committee to break the precincts into four caucus sites in 2020.
‘Larry Sundblad’s Shop’ is not a business but a “hobby shop” her late husband, Larry, built to work on “old street hot rods, old tractors” and is 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 expects “maybe” 50 people. “We’re hoping for more,” she added, noting 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, “We’re Trump country here,” so there’s little possibility anyone other than the former president will win her precinct’s caucus, she predicted before emphasizing, “I’m a Trump supporter, but I’m going to be respectful of people with all opinions.”
While observers are welcome, only Republicans registered in the precinct “can participate” and that means “you would not be allowed to speak” during the caucus, Ms. Sundblad said.
2020 was not the first time she provided caucus space. “I ‘sited’ Democratic caucuses” in the 1960s-70s, she said.
“They were small, neighborly gatherings of eight-to-10 people,” Ms. Sundblad said. “I flipped” parties “when Bill Clinton came along” in the 1990s.
In Mills County’s Silver City, the McNutts will ”put out cookies and coffee. it’s after meal time, but we’ll put a little something out,” said Ms. McNutt, co-chair of the Mills County Republican Committee.
More than 50 showed up in her family room for 2016’s caucus. If that happens again, “We’ll squeeze everybody in with their big coats,” she said.
The process usually “goes pretty smoothly” and should “probably take less than an hour,” she said.
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.
From The Epoch Times
