After a bit of a lull in Iowa’s parade of presidential candidates, the summer campaign season will soon start to heat up again in the kick-off caucus state.
U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on Tuesday announced he’ll speak at next month’s FAMILY Leadership Summit in Des Moines, billed as “the Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.”
Scott will join fellow GOP presidential hopefuls, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, all confirming they will address attendees. 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.
GOP presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, also have been invited to attend the all-day session. So have two of the Democratic Party nomination contenders, President Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Don’t hold your breath on the latter two RSVP-ing to the evangelical Christian summit.
Hutchinson campaigned in western Iowa Tuesday, but based on reports it appears relatively few Iowans were alerted to his presence or cared about his campaign stop.
Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson, 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 at the event.
“Though the news tends to focus on the national leaders who attend, the FAMiLY Leadership Summit is about so much more than politics,” the Family Leader website states. “We invite leaders, believers, from the spheres of government, faith, business, news, entertainment, and more to speak to our discerning Christian audience about leading meaningful impact in our nation.”
It’s also an excellent opportunity for Republican presidential candidates to speak to and connect with hundreds of would-be caucus voters assembled in the same room. Last year’s 11th annual summit drew more than 1,700 people, a number that included local and national TV crews and reporters.
The Family Leadership Summit and the Family Leader are lead 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.
He said the justices “have shown blatant disrespect for the constitution, the people’s representatives and we the people.” Last week’s rare 3-3 ruling left in place a lower court’s decision blocking the 2018 law because Roe v. Wade was the law of the land then. But Governor Kim Reynolds asked the Iowa high court to take up the district court’s decision following the U.S. Supreme Court last June issued a ruling overturning the 1973 ruling providing federal protections for abortion.
In 2010, Iowans ousted three Iowa Supreme Court Justices for disregarding the separation of powers. These three dissenters have shown blatant disrespect for the constitution, the people’s representatives and we the people. They should resign, be impeached or be ousted. https://t.co/uD4yUITxqP
— Bob Vander Plaats (@bobvanderplaats) June 17, 2023
DeSantis will be doing double duty on the Iowa campaign trail. The Florida governor is slated to serve as U.S. Representative Zach Nunn’s (R-IA-03) “wing man” for “Operation Top Nunn — a Salute to the Troops” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on July 15. The fundraiser will be held at the Ankeny Airport in suburban Des Moines. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) also is scheduled to attend.
Nunn served for nearly two decades in the U.S. Airforce, serving as an airborne intelligence officer and flying over 700 combat hours. DeSantis is a U.S. Navy veteran, and Ernst retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard after 23 years of military service.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Tim Scott” by Tim Scott. Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Mike Pence” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy. Background Photo “Iowa Capitol” by Danksergeant15. CC BY-SA 4.0.
