Iowa (RI) — Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters says the road to GOP majorities in the U.S. House and Senate starts in Iowa.
Gruters was in Iowa Wednesday campaigning with candidates in the state’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts, and he plans to be at the Iowa State Fair today. He said the RNC is backing the Iowa GOP’s lawsuit seeking to require election officials to verify voter signatures on absentee-ballot envelopes.
Tuesday, a federal court blocked an executive order President Trump issued in March regarding mailing absentee ballots. The order would require the Postal Service to send and receive only ballots with tracking barcodes. The Trump Administration is likely to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. Gruters says Trump is considering all options.
Gruters also said a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling is a “game changer” for how the party may spend resources on candidates like Ashley Hinson, the Iowa Republican running for the U.S. Senate. Until last month, federal regulations prevented coordination between candidates and political parties.
The RNC entered July with $129 million more than the Democratic National Committee. Gruters said the change will allow the GOP to directly assess where to direct spending in Iowa’s competitive U.S. House and Senate races.
Gruters said advertising dollars will also be worth three to four times as much because candidates and political parties will now receive the same rates.
