Republican Party of Iowa Chair

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Election Day is just a week and a half away. There are competitive races from the U.S. House to the Iowa Statehouse. We'll talk with Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann on this edition of Iowa Press.

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For decades, Iowa Press has brought you political leaders and newsmakers from across Iowa and beyond. Celebrating more than 50 years on statewide Iowa PBS, this is the Friday, October 25th edition of Iowa Press. Here is Kay Henderson.

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[Henderson] Last week, if you're a regular viewer of this program, you heard from Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. This week you'll hear from Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. He is a former state legislator and he has been the Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party since 2014. Welcome back to the program.

[Kaufmann] It's great to be here.

[Henderson] Joining the conversation, Erin Murphy of the Gazette in Cedar Rapids and Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register.

[Pfannenstiel] Mr. Kaufmann, you've been on this program several times and you keep telling us that you don't believe that Iowa is necessarily a red state, that it could still be a swing state. The latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed the presidential race being a four-point race here in Iowa, Donald Trump up four points over Kamala Harris. Do democrats have a shot here?

[Kaufmann] No, I don't think so. I would guess that at this point Donald Trump is up eight to ten points. We are very gladly doing what we need to do without the resources of the RNC and without the resources of the Trump campaign and I do that gladly because he needs those resources in those seven swing states. I feel very, very comfortable with the President. We're seeing that he has coattails in many of our legislative races. So, we're comfortable right now.

[Pfannenstiel] Do you think Iowa is a purple state in any of these down ballot races?

[Kaufmann] I think that Iowa has the, always will have the potential of being purple. Right now, we're very red. I don't see that purple color coming in very strong this particular election cycle. But knowing the history, and I put on my history hat here, over a period of decades yes, I think we have swing tendencies. I'm not seeing that we're going to see the beginning of any kind of a pendulum swing back this particular election.

[Pfannenstiel] And in your view, how did the state of the race change here in Iowa when Kamala Harris became the nominee instead of Joe Biden?

[Kaufmann] I think total incompetence, even admitted by many moderate democrats, to an incompetence that republicans have to point out, essentially, a less obvious incompetence on the part of Kamala Harris.

[Pfannenstiel] She's making republicans work a little harder for it?

[Kaufmann] I think so, I think so.

[Murphy] Well, let's dig into that a little bit. I wanted to ask you about voter registration numbers. Since July, coming out of the primary and roughly around that same period when the democrats made that switch, we just talked about democrats’ numbers they have picked up another almost 16,000 registered voters, an uptick of about 3.5%. We always talk about enthusiasm being a key for voters. Kind of piggybacking off of that, do those numbers give you any pause that there is a surge of enthusiasm, any maybe not even in the presidential race, but again more of those other down ballot races at the congressional and statehouse level?

[Kaufmann] Sure, not really, Erin, to be honest with you. If you look over the last several years what has happened, we have overwhelmingly expanded republican registration over democratic registration. It has been constant since 2016. I even wrote these numbers down. Since 2016 republicans are up 80,000 and democrats are down 100,000. I think these are glitches. Here's where you really measure enthusiasm and that is what is happening with the absentee requests. Two years ago, in 2022 republicans were down over 30%. Now we're down 3%. It's almost a wash. What you're seeing here is you're seeing our initiatives working that we put together without the RNC, without the Trump campaign, and at the same time you're seeing enthusiasm at the polls. This is even pleasantly surprising me.

[Henderson] Well, let's talk about that because for years you would interview, we would interview republicans at republican events and oh no, no, no, I vote on Election Day, it's a thing with me. And it seems like it was a thing with the party. It seems like it's a thing for maybe your nominee for President, Donald Trump. Why have you made this switch and focus so much on early voting?

[Kaufmann] Well, remember Kay, probably about four years into my term as Chair we put quite a bit of resources and dollars and there was a moment, I remember Governor Branstad actually yelled at excitement when we actually pulled in and actually surpassed democrats. So, we tried these initiatives in the past. What we've done is we've combined the message with what the party is saying, with what all of our elected officials are saying, and then we also have the RNC and a Bank the Vote program that Chairman Michael Whatley is pushing very, very strongly and it's working. And you can put all the resources that you want into an absentee effort and then to a chase effort after that, but unless you have enthusiasm on your side it's not going to work. And so, I think what is happening right now, we've got enthusiasm. And certainly, there is a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the democrats because part of the reason for those numbers and for us getting very, very close to the democrats is they're seeing less absentee voting. So, I think we've got a perfect storm here of enthusiasm on the part of republicans, we're all singing from the same page, we've got a competent Republican Party of Iowa that is leading the charge and I don't think you're seeing that kind of enthusiasm from the democrats.

[Murphy] What are you telling your supporters about voting by mail?

[Kaufmann] Bank the vote. Two things primarily, number one, our candidates feel a lot better and it's a lot more confidence building in the final stages if they know they're not going to walk in there on Election Night and just know that they're way, way down. That's number one. Number two, we spend less resources. Right now, we don't have money from the Trump campaign, we don't have money from the RNC. That's not a complaint. It's a realistic sacrifice that we had to make. But at this point, if the three of you, if you were republican voters or independent voters or democrats that we have typed as potential voters, if you've all voted that's it. We're not sending you any more mailers, we're not sending any more phone calls. We can actually stretch our dollars more. I'm making those financial arguments.

[Murphy] But with mail specifically, are you talking about the tight timeline? We're hearing a lot, especially in rural areas, about worrying about voters by mail and getting the ballot back ahead of Election Day.

[Kaufmann] No, I'm not worried about that. Everybody knows what the rules are on these. This isn't the first time that we've had these actual rules. In fact, I was talking to my people in the county auditor's office yesterday and they're actually pleased. They're actually putting things together. They're getting ready for counting those absentee ballots. I think there's going to be more efficiency and certainly there's more credibility, in my opinion, since we've closed that gap. But I think this is more of a function that republicans get it. They get it that we can stretch the dollars. And they get it that we want to bank some votes. And I think the message and the enthusiasm, I just couldn't be more happy about what I'm seeing with these numbers right now.

[Henderson] So, just for the benefit of viewers who may not have reviewed the rules, you get an absentee ballot and it has to be in the county auditor's office by 8pm on Election Day to be voted. We've had county auditors though worried, particularly in rural areas, because the Post Office is saying give it seven days to get from the mailbox back to the county auditor's office. And county auditor's that we've talked to are encouraging people, if you got a ballot in the mail, bring it to us just to be sure. You don't have that concern. You think the Post Office is going to deliver these.

[Kaufmann] I do and any time there is a change in the law I'm used to county officials being overly cautious and finding every single potential problem that could occur. That is not necessarily a criticism. I would expect that coming from them. But no, I feel good about where we're at. I feel good that our votes are going to be banked. And the lines right now, that's the other thing, and the lines right now in the courthouses we're also seeing near parity with republicans and democrats standing in those lines, which is another option that Iowans have.

[Pfannenstiel] Well, there are a lot of people trying to read the tea leaves of these early voting numbers, including those of us here at the table. So, looking at some of those early return numbers, early voting is outpacing the third district in both the first and the second district. What does that tell you about what's going on in those districts?

[Kaufmann] I think there's a lot of interest, no doubt about that. That, and rightly so, has been highlighted in the press and by both political parties, quite frankly. The third and the first district is what everybody is talking about on both sides of the aisle. So, I think it's a reflection of that. I think it's a reflection the fact that we're seeing near parity between the republicans and the democrats in those numbers show you how serious the republicans are taking these races. We've been saying, I believe probably the last two times I was here we were talking about how close the first, possibly second and the third districts might be. Two out of the three of those worked out in terms they are. And, again, I think this is a measure of enthusiasm.

[Pfannenstiel] Are there any warning signs for Zach Nunn that those numbers are a little bit lower than they are in the first?

[Kaufmann] I don't think so. I mean, things are more compact in terms of where the population center is in the Nunn district. And so, it's going to be easier for the bigger bulk of his supporters to vote on Election Day as opposed to possible more rural districts. I don't know that that's necessarily a major factor. No, I think in both cases I think this is one of those cases where the water rising is going to help all parties on the republican ticket. I know in my conversations with our congressional delegation they are absolutely, I was just conversing with every single one of them this week, and they're just thrilled. We are all positively thrilled about these numbers, not in a cocky way or an arrogant way, but boy is this a lot better than what it was two years ago or four years ago at this time. It shows a great deal of promise for us. And when resources were scarce for the Republican Party of Iowa, we had to spend nearly a million dollars for our caucus, now we've got to turn around and run our own absentee program and chase program. It reinforces to me that we put those resources in the right place.

[Pfannenstiel] Well, you have alluded to this a few times now that the Republican Party can no longer rely on kind of the presidential campaigns really investing in Iowa as a result of it looking very safe for Donald Trump. So, how have you had to raise money? How have you had to make up for kind of that gap that had been here previously?

[Kaufmann] Absolutely. And Brianne, that has dominated my life the last four years. Quite frankly, I had to go out and it was like another fundraising campaign. So, I have the fundraising campaign for the caucuses, I had the fundraising campaign for just normal operating procedure and now another fundraising campaign for our absentee efforts. We also had our elected officials were very actively participating in that. Governor Reynolds, Joni Ernst, you would think that they were on the ballot, and Senator Grassley, you would think that they were on the ballot in terms of the intensity of which they're going out there and pushing Bank the Vote and also with them sharing their resources as well. I think that has been one of the strengths of the Republican Party this last decade. We may not agree on every single solitary thing, but we act as a team and at this particular point it's go time, we are all singing from the same page, and I think you're seeing those resources. We were able to raise them. But yes, you're exactly right, this has been a turning point I think in the Republican Party. This will be the first time that we've had very, very active programs where the stakes are very, very high and we have not had RNC dollars or national candidate dollars to raise them. We've proven they can. Future republican parties may have to get used to that if we're not going to turn into a swing state.

[Murphy] This week, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate sent a list of a little more than 2,000 names to poll workers, county auditors across the state of Iowans who are in the U.S. legally but do not have full citizenship and the instructions are if these people try to vote in this election to challenge those ballots while they then determine whether they have full citizenship. The penalty for voting in Iowa or registering to vote while not being a legal U.S. citizen is a class D felony, which carries a sentence up to five years. That's obviously a big concern possibly for some of these voters. Are you worried that eligible voters, including some who might come out and vote for republicans, will be scared off by this list coming out, especially this close to the election?

[Kaufmann] Sure, I mean if you're not a United States citizen and you even have a passing thought of voting, I want you to be scared. I mean, I think there's nothing wrong with that. I think that is an issue that transcends party lines except for the most extreme left individuals in this state. I think this is the Secretary of State doing due diligence on an issue of which I'm going to guess has more agreement between the parties than even voter ID and I think that is 70%. So, I think we're just ensuring that we have fair elections. We're making sure that when this election is over, we are all looking at each other and congratulating the winners and losers. But more importantly we're saying once again Iowa led the way in voter integrity, but at the same time we had good elections and we have a lot of people voting.

[Murphy] Do you have any concern that there may be someone who maybe they just recently gained full citizenship but they hear about something like this and the threat of what could happen even though it may not apply to them but it may be enough, like I said, that punishment of jail time --

[Henderson] Particularly since your party is picking up steam with Latino voters?

[Kaufmann] Absolutely. And that there in and of itself, Kay, is the reason why this is a decision on the part of Paul Pate that is pro election integrity, not anti any particular group because you're exactly right, this is going to be a process. If they can prove their citizenship, then they can vote. I don't think you don't remind people of a potential class D felony because you're worried about hurt feelings. We have to protect the integrity of this vote. We didn't get caught up in a lot of the conversations that you had in Pennsylvania and in Wisconsin and Michigan primarily because we do generally review those laws, we have good election laws and we respect those laws generally as a state.

[Murphy] Is it fair to ask poll workers to manage this burden? It has been put on them. The Secretary of State's Office has asked the poll workers to cast these challenges if an individual on this list shows up to vote.

[Kaufmann] Well, the poll workers are going to have them and they're going to have training. They are the people on the ground. And obviously if any of these poll workers I know in Cedar County, for example, if any of our poll workers have a question or they're worried about maybe are they doing the right thing, there is a phone number to call day and night and eventually it's going to get back to the chief election official, the county auditor in that county.

[Pfannenstiel] We've seen several national republicans come out for the candidates over the last week. We saw Mike Johnson campaigning for Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. We're seeing Tulsi Gabbard here this weekend. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been in town. What does that say about the stakes of this race and how national republicans are viewing it?

[Kaufmann] Well, we want the majority. And the path to the majority in the federal House of Representatives goes through Iowa. We have two competitive districts, which by the way, kudos to the republican trifecta that made sure that our system of redistricting is fair and we have competitive districts. Remember we were hearing a bunch of chatter from the democrats that somehow that wasn't going to happen? Here we are. It did. Republicans did not change that system. It was fair and balanced. But yes, I think that this is important, these two races are important. We can't do anything. I feel a little helpless here with the federal Senate. I wish we had a Senate race. I'd love to jump in right now. I could just cheer on Montana and the Ohio republicans and the Wisconsin republicans. This is a place where we can make a difference and in those two races that is exactly what is happening. And it's good. It kind of reminds me of the old days when we used to play hard to get with the presidential candidates.

[Murphy] How does the statewide map look to you for legislative races to the Iowa Capitol. We're sitting here in the heart of one of the most competitive races in the Iowa Senate with incumbent Brad Zaun and democratic challenger Matt Blake. There is a number of other races in suburbs that are drawing a lot of interest. Obviously, republicans have a strong majority in both chambers. What is your view on whether those will hold?

[Kaufmann] Well, ultimately in the big scheme of things I believe we're going to have more than 60 republicans in the House and I believe that the Senate is definitely going to keep their super majority. Yes, the suburbs are always a battleground. What's important for us is we really don't have any battlegrounds in rural Iowa anymore. And if you look at the television that has been purchased by the democrats, for example, the democrats are purchasing as much advertising to defend their incumbents as they are being aggressive and trying to take over. That is a really weak position for a party to be in when they are in an extreme minority and still have to defend because the majority party is going after their seats. Could we lose some seats? Certainly. I believe Brad Zaun is going to win. But could we lose some seats? Yes, we could. Could we gain some seats? Absolutely we could. But we're always going to have -- what has happened is we're just shrinking more and more and more on the legislative map where we can actually find a competitive race. And we certainly have some in the metro area.

[Murphy] We've talked a couple of times now about resources. With everything else you've had to work on does the party have the resources to support its candidates this fall down the ballot at the Statehouse level?

[Kaufmann] Absolutely. And these candidates are doing a fantastic job of raising their own resources as well. It's been pretty amazing. Usually, you sometimes have just a handful of Senators and House members that are raising money and then many of the other are -- I think we have more Senators and legislators actually raising money, having fundraisers and pushing ahead and we've got some, very, very active challenger candidates. I believe we're going to knock off a few incumbents, which is a pretty significant task to do when you're talking about a Democratic Party that has already very, very few in number.

[Henderson] There are a couple of other things on the back of the ballot. Brianne is going to ask you about them.

[Pfannenstiel] Right. What are you telling your voters in terms of these two constitutional amendments?

[Kaufmann] We're suggesting a vote of yes.

[Henderson] Why?

[Kaufmann] I think it's --

[Henderson] Well, maybe we should tell viewers. One is about how a lieutenant governor is chosen making clear that they are in the line of succession. And the other is in regards to saying that only U.S. citizens should vote and if you're 17 you can participate in the June primary if you're going to be 18 be Election Day.

[Kaufmann] Right. I think we'll start with the last one. I think that is clarifying something. I'm assuming both parties agree with that. It's a way to get young people involved and I think that sends a message.

[Murphy] I'm sorry, if I could real quick on that. I haven't heard the debate as much in this state, but in others there has been an argument made that even if there is someone who is a resident without full citizenship, they're allowed in some states to vote in local elections and the argument is they live here, they should be able to have a say in who their local representatives are. What do you have to say about that?

[Kaufmann] Oh, I would be one hundred percent against that. They're not here legally.

[Murphy] They are here legally but they're not full citizens yet.

[Kaufmann] Absolutely. Voting is for citizens and I would be willing to be that overwhelming majority of Iowans agree with that. I'm going to guess that a majority of democrats are in favor of that. I think that is a camel's nose under the tent, quite frankly. So, we are very strongly in favor of that.

[Henderson] And the other one about the lieutenant governor, you have some democrats who are saying it's a power grab by Kim Reynolds.

[Kaufmann] Well, that's silly. That's silliness because there may very well be, maybe in a hundred years when I'm done being chair -- I'm just kidding, don't read into that -- in a hundred years and I will not be chair, there is going to be a democratic governor at some point and they're going to benefit from this too. Remember, they played politics. Tom Miller played politics with the lieutenant governor when Kim Reynolds became Governor whether Adam Gregg was the full -- this just clarifies that. This is a no brainer. I'm just thinking to myself when I'm hearing democrats push back on these -- my goodness folks, don't you have enough just maintaining your majorities rather than pick apart this for the sake? I'd be more worried about Tim Walz saying we shouldn't have an Electoral College, which would be damning to Iowans across the board than any of these things.

[Henderson] So, you're not going to be party chair for a hundred years. Let's talk about, are you concerned that Kim Reynolds hasn't named a new lieutenant governor. Adam Gregg resigned more than a month ago.

[Kaufmann] I think she's doing the right thing by waiting until after the election.

[Henderson] Why?

[Murphy] What is that?

[Kaufmann] I really do. Her focus is going to be razor sharp on that. The Governor, I've seen her in action when she's had these decisions to make and when Governor Branstad had these decisions to make. They are very methodical. They are very all inclusive. She takes these things very seriously. She is everywhere and anywhere right now. This is not the right time to actually be basically running the party, she is the title head of the party, and at the same time picking the person that is going to be lieutenant governor. And we have, in the case God forbid of a disaster, we do have the Senate President could step in. I think she's doing the right thing.

[Henderson] If not you, who?

[Kaufmann] Oh, I am not even mentioned in my wife's list for many things, not just lieutenant governor. But you know what, if I sat here and speculated Kay --

[Henderson] Please do.

[Kaufmann] What do you think the chances are that Kim Reynolds would return my next phone call?

[Henderson] Are you going to be party chair in 2015 and 2016?

[Kaufmann] I don't know.

[Henderson] Why?

[Murphy] 2025 and 2026.

[Henderson] Oh, jiminy Christmas.

[Kaufmann] 2025 and 2026, well I will be for a part of 2025 because the new chair isn't elected until mid-2025, or January.

[Henderson] Who are you consulting?

[Kaufmann] My boss. I have two bosses, one is my wife, the other is my grandson.

[Henderson] Well, I'm a boss of the time here and so we are out of it. Thank you for being here today.

[Kaufmann] I appreciate it.

[Henderson] You can watch every episode of Iowa Press at iowapbs.org. For everyone here at Iowa PBS, thanks for watching today.

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