IA Republican Party Sets Caucus Date of January 3rd

After much speculation Iowa would be forced to set its caucus dates as early as December 2007 due to the compressed primary schedule brought upon by the decisions of other states, Iowa’s Republican Party has officially set its caucuses for Thursday, January 3rd.

On Tuesday, the State Party announced it’s Central Committee had voted for the date and that it would “continue to communicate and work with the Iowa Democratic Party over the coming months to plan the Iowa Caucuses and ensure we maintain our first-in-the-nation status.” The Democratic Party has not yet made an official announcement, but is expected to join the GOP to hold its caucuses on January 3rd to avoid confusion among the electorate.

The Iowa Caucuses are being held 16 days earlier than in 2004 (January 19th), three weeks earlier than in 2000 (January 24th), and more than 5 weeks earlier than in 1996 (February 12th).