IOWA CAUCUSES

10 things to watch for at Iowa Faith & Freedom event

Jennifer Jacobs
jejacobs@dmreg.com
Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition

About 1,000 right-leaning Iowans will size up nine GOP presidential contenders at a four-hour speechfest at a Waukee church on Saturday night.

The organizer is the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, a conservative nonprofit group that pushes for integrity in government, high moral values, constitutional authority and Christian principles.

"We told them they can talk about anything they like," Steve Scheffler, executive director of the Faith & Freedom group, told The Des Moines Register.

Iowa's Republican evangelical voting bloc is not monolithic; not everyone wants to dwell on just abortion and gay marriage, GOP leaders said.

Scheffler said he thinks this audience, a mix of evangelical Christians and other Republicans, wants to hear the contenders' ideas on school choice, the caliber of people they would nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court, how they would revamp Social Security and Medicare, and how they would bolster national security and deal with Islamic terrorists.

"If you don't have a free country, it's all over," Scheffler said. "I don't care what issue you support, whether it's marriage or life or limited government — (if) these people are on our shores destroying our way of life, it's over."

GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway, who isn't affiliated with any of the presidential aspirants, agreed that "the state of the world" is a priority for these voters. "2016 will be the national security election," she said.

The Faith & Freedom event could help Iowans, who are tasked with being the first to vet presidential hopefuls, to begin "the process of elimination," Conway said.

Six or seven Republicans will likely stay in the top cluster in polling, she predicted, which means Iowans have to start deciding whom to rule out.

For the announced candidates and those soon to launch bids, Conway said, "the way you survive and ensure you're one of the last three or four standing is by exposing your competition as not as strong."

Here are 10 questions the forum might help answer

Confirmed speakers are Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Scott Walker. All of these Republican White House hopefuls have appeal for the Faith & Freedom audience members, who have shown themselves to be conservative in beliefs but also pragmatic. Which ones will distinguish themselves most clearly?

1. CONSISTENCY

Who can stay consistent with their record and their accomplishments? The candidates' statements and track records follow them each time they visit Iowa and other early primary states. There won't be a question-and-answer opportunity for the audience, which means Iowans won't get a chance to pin down the contenders in public on burning topics.

2. AUTHENTICITY

Who will come across as the most authentic? "Nobody should attempt to out-pro-life or out-Christian each other and should instead genuinely share their personal convictions and approach to problem solving," said Tim Albrecht, an Iowa-based Republican digital and messaging strategist.

3. HOME COURT

This is Mike Huckabee's home court. Can the former Baptist minister keep the Christian conservative caucusgoers who led him to victory in 2008 engaged, energized and in his camp? Huckabee, who was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, will make an announcement about his presidential ambitions May 5.

4. OVERSHADOWED?

Many questions swirl around candidates courting the evangelical vote. Does Rick Santorum, who in 2012 followed much of Huckabee's path to victory, have anything left in the tank for 2016 — or will Huckabee and Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz overshadow him? Will Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, call upon the loyalty of this group of Christian conservatives? Can Cruz, who has been embraced by more stringent evangelicals — a smaller, but louder, segment of Iowa's evangelical voters — make any headway with more pragmatic evangelicals? Will Cruz make a call to "unite the clans" in an early attempt to try to coalesce all the evangelical support?

5. BIG INTRODUCTION

Marco Rubio is a hot candidate nationally. Will he whip up similar passion and buzz in Iowa? This will be the first speech here for the Florida U.S. senator since he declared his presidential candidacy last week in Miami. What ideological hook will Rubio use to draw support from this audience? Will he wow Iowa Republicans like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker did during his introduction speech at January's Freedom Summit?

6. FEMALE CONTENDER

Pottawattamie County Republican chair Jeff Jorgensen and several attendees at the Des Moines metro's Westside Conservative Club gave Carly Fiorina favorable reviews after appearances this week. Can Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO who intends to declare her presidential intentions May 4, build momentum with this conservative crowd? Will she work to dispel potential stereotype-based thinking that Republican women from California are moderates?

7. CATTLE-CALL DEBUT

This will be the first so-called cattle call event in Iowa for Rand Paul, who has until now chosen to do his own thing rather than follow rules set for shared-stage events. Will the Kentucky U.S. senator, on his second Iowa trip as a declared candidate, work to prove he's not his father's isolationist brand? Paul intends to fill his 15-minute time slot with a two-minute video and 13 minutes of remarks, organizers said.

8. JABS

Do any of the nine Republicans take on Jeb Bush, who is one of the top-polling contenders nationally, but who can't make Saturday's event? Who will take the best-received shot at the lone announced Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton? GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway said she thinks this is how Republicans can distinguish themselves at this event. "I would view it as a platform to take the case directly to Hillary Clinton," she said. GOP contenders are out taking on the significant matters of the day in talks with voters and news interviews, she said, "while you've got Mrs. Clinton with a sock in her mouth riding in a van."

9. ABSENTEES

Will audience members pine for absent faces? Bush, a former governor of Florida; entertainer/entrepreneur Donald Trump; South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham; retired surgeon Ben Carson; and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won't be there Saturday, but they will be in Iowa on May 16 for a Republican Party of Iowa dinner.

Bush, Trump and Carson are sending surrogates to speak for them; they'll each get five minutes. A video for Graham will be played.

Others who will be absent Saturday are three Republicans who have yet to dabble much in Iowa this cycle: former New York Gov. George Pataki; Indiana Gov. Mike Pence; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

10. OFF STAGE

The big stage will get all the attention, but Albrecht said the real action will be in ancillary meetings around the event. "At this point," he said, "there will be a reasonable expectation for activists to pledge their support on the dotted line."

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About the event

A reception begins at 3:30 p.m. at Point of Grace Church, 305 Northeast Dartmoor Drive, Waukee.

Speeches will run from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Kane Robinson, a longtime campaign operative in Iowa, intends to run a tight ship as emcee, strictly limiting each presidential hopeful to 15 minutes.

Tickets are free, but a contribution was requested. Attendees were asked to RSVP by Wednesday.