July is about to heat up on the presidential campaign trail in the first-in-the-nation caucus state
On Tuesday, Ohio businessman and top tier Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on the steps of the Iowa State Capitol. Governor Kim Reynolds called the Legislature into special session to take up pro-life bills Tuesday after the state Supreme Court recently punted on a decision that would have put Iowa’s “heartbeat bill” — limiting abortion at approximately six weeks — into law.
Ramaswamy plans to meet with pro-life leaders and advocates rallying to support the state’s heartbeat bill, according to a campaign press release.
On Friday, several GOP presidential candidates will speak at the FAMILY Leadership Summit in Des Moines. The nationally-watched event is billed as “the Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.”
Confirmed to attend include:
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
U.S. Senator Tim Scott
Vivek Ramaswamy
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
Notably absent, former President Donald Trump, who campaigned in western Iowa on Friday.
The summit, hosted by Iowa-based Christian conservative group The Family Leader, is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. July 14 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines.
Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson will emcee the event. Alistair Begg, host of Truth for Life radio ministry, Dr. Bill Lile, pro-life doctor (OBGYN), and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds are listed as featured speakers.
The Family Leadership Summit and the Family Leader are led by Bob Vander Plaats, a well-connected social conservative who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, 2006, and 2010. The New York Times has called Vander Plaats “Iowa’s most prominent social conservative.”
In June 2016, Vander Plaats supported a potential movement for delegates to not vote for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, saying that “everything’s got to be on the table,” according to Ballotpedia. Trump had attended the 2015 summit.
Vander Plaats recently called for the three Iowa Supreme Court justices who opposed the re-instatement of the state’s six-week limit on abortion — the “heartbeat law” — to be impeached or leave.
On Saturday, U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA-03) and his family will host the first-annual Operation Top Nunn — A Salute to the Troops! Nunn’s very special guests include DeSantis and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA). The congressional fundraiser, loosely borrowing from the Hollywood blockbuster “Top Gun” movie franchise, gets underway at 1 p.m. at the Ankeny Airport. Nunn is a U.S. Airforce veteran, and DeSantis and Ernst are military veterans in their own right.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Iowa Family Leadership Summit” by Iowa Family Leadership Summit.
