Iowa caucuses: 50 most wanted Republicans
Here are 50 of Iowa's makers and shakers for the Republican presidential caucuses.
The Des Moines Register asked GOP insiders to identify the Iowans they consider the best gets for the 2016 presidential campaigns, and we received more than 100 answers.
While the Democratic base includes labor unions, the gay lobby and abortion rights activists, the GOP forces are made up of business leaders, the religious right and Constitution hawks.
The Iowans who made the "50 most wanted" list have an outsized influence — they're elected officials whom candidates seek out, energetic worker bees who fan out to knock on doors, check writers who know the Iowa terrain and can persuade others to open their wallets, and charismatic activists who can slap together a house party and get more than 40 people to show up to meet their candidate.
Fifteen are paid political operatives. They know the mechanics of the caucuses, or they're savvy strategists or media mouthpieces. They can organize a 99-county campaign, or are skilled at building buzz and a perception of momentum.
Dozens more influencers and hired help not mentioned here will be highly sought after for their behind-the-scenes guidance, hard work and financial contributions.
The caucuses are still more than a year away, scheduled for Feb. 1, 2016. None of the Republican presidential prospects has declared a candidacy, but former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last week announced he's officially exploring a run. As others ramp up in earnest, the tug of war for top Iowa talent is fully engaged.
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INFLUENCERS
1. TERRY BRANSTAD: The most successful politician in Iowa history, Branstad hasn't lost a single election in four decades. The 68-year-old governor has fiercely loyal backers and a bullet-proof statewide organization and fundraising network. Candidates will cultivate him as a confidante.
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2. CHUCK GRASSLEY: He has a gold-plated brand. The 81-year-old U.S. senator from Butler County is viewed as the quintessential Iowan — honest, trustworthy, dedicated. Eighty-one percent of likely GOP caucusgoers in an October Iowa Poll said his opinion is important in deciding which candidate they'll support. Should he choose to endorse, as he has twice in the past, he'd be a great validator for any candidate.
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3. JONI ERNST: She's a break-out GOP star, and presidential hopefuls will want to stand on stage with her, hands linked and held high. Ernst, a 44-year-old combat veteran, is the first woman Iowa has elected to Congress. She's the rare Republican who has energized both establishment and dissident activists here. Ernst has said she doesn't intend to endorse anyone, but candidates will try to situate themselves in her orbit as much as they can.
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4. TOM LATHAM: The soon-to-retire congressman has represented over half the state in the course of his career — the Republican half — and is popular even in more moderate Polk County. Although Latham, 66, of Clive, will never put out a shingle as a kingmaker, he'll be hounded for advice and his blessing. He doesn't intend to endorse, but is "available to anyone interested in coming to Iowa." He'll maintain connections in Washington, where some of his closest friends are, and will be sought after for high-profile nonelected posts in Iowa.
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5. STEVE KING: A blue-eyed charmer with a dozen years in the U.S. House, King unleashes inflammatory rhetoric that other Republicans sometimes distance themselves from. And he will want to pull presidential candidates far to the right on immigration. But King, 65, of Crawford County, has real clout in northwest Iowa, an area that's vital to a successful GOP campaign for the Iowa caucuses. And he's sponsoring a new multi-candidate presidential forum.
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6. KIM REYNOLDS: The lieutenant governor was the first person to endorse Joni Ernst, lending the then-unknown U.S. Senate hopeful some of her credibility. Reynolds, 55, of Clarke County, often offers a window into what Gov. Terry Branstad is thinking — and she might endorse a presidential candidate even though he may not. She was a Mitt Romney backer in 2008 and 2012.
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7. BOB VANDER PLAATS: He's president of the Family Leader, a Christian conservative organization whose members focus on "God's righteousness in the civic arena." In a state where 46 percent of the GOP's 2016 likely caucusgoers describe themselves as evangelical Christians, his seal of approval can help deliver a wing of socially conservative gatekeepers. Vander Plaats, 61, hosts some of the biggest multi-candidate political events in Iowa. Vice President Chuck Hurley is also a veteran player, and their boots-on-the-ground organizer, Greg Baker, is considered an up-and-comer.
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8. JEFF KAUFMANN: He'll stay neutral in the caucuses, but he's the one who's in touch with every other influential person on this list. Kaufmann, a 51-year-old community college professsor/workaholic from Cedar County, was chosen for the role of Republican Party of Iowa chairman when Branstad backers usurped control from a faction of liberty conservatives. He gives witty speeches and media interviews, and he's great with the grassroots. Two other members of the Kaufmann clan will also be players in the 2016 caucuses: sons Bobby, a 29-year-old state legislator, and John, 22, statewide chairman of the College Republicans.
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9. MATT HINCH: When any presidential hopeful has a conversation with the governor, his chief of staff will be sitting right next to him. Hinch, 34, of Dallas County, will play an integral role in advising Branstad should he make an endorsement.
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10. MATT STRAWN: He's one of the smartest communicators in the party. Strawn, 41, of Ankeny, is a former Republican Party of Iowa chairman who is connected in both the donor and activist communities. He was Joni Ernst's sparring partner in debate practice in this fall's U.S. Senate race, playing the role of Democrat Bruce Braley. Strawn, a partner at Next Generation Public Affairs Inc., won't take a paid position at a presidential campaign this cycle, but campaigns will call on him for strategic advice.
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11. JUDY DAVIDSON: It's not a stretch to say she's one of the best county Republican party chairs in the state. Davidson, 56, has contributed financially herself and helped build the GOP substantially in Scott County, much to the chagrin of Democrats. It's wise for candidates to wrangle an invitation to one of her fundraising dinners, which attract crowds that rival or surpass those in Polk County. And she's on the state party's governing board.
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12. KYLE KRAUSE: Krause, CEO of a 430-store Iowa-based convenience store chain, has juice in politics here. During the 2012 presidential cycle, the 51-year-old Dallas County Republican hosted the largest fundraiser in Iowa history, raising over $2 million for Mitt Romney. The West Des Moines headquarters of his company, Kum & Go, has become a prized location for GOP rallies.
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13. SAM CLOVIS: Who else could lose two elections in one year, pursuing jobs as U.S. senator and then state treasurer, and have his stock go up? The 65-year-old Sioux City college professor excited conservative activists with sagacious stump speeches, and built a reservoir of credibility with mainstream GOPers. Clovis endorsed Rick Santorum just before the 2012 caucuses, but is undecided for 2016.
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14. SHERILL WHISENAND: She's a relentless organizational activist, supporting GOP candidates up and down the ballot as the Polk County GOP co-chair and a state central committee member. Whisenand, 58, has pledged to stay neutral in the caucuses, but she's a wellspring of intuitive Iowa insight. Her sister, Mary Whisenand, 50, another organizational dynamo, is free to endorse. She's partial to Rick Perry.
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15. PETE BROWNELL: The CEO of Brownells Inc., a major firearm parts supplier headquartered in Poweshiek County, can raise significant funds quickly and has an in with the small business and Second Amendment rights communities in Iowa. As the 2nd vice president of the National Rifle Association and a member of the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board, Brownell, 45, has a network of state and national connections.
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16. JIM COWNIE: If he gives a presidential hopeful his nod, it's likely a sign the candidate will do well with the big cheeses in the Des Moines golden circle. Cownie, 70, who earned his wealth in the cable TV and real estate industries, is known for being clear-headed and unpretentious. His son Peter Cownie also has political muscle as a state legislator from West Des Moines and leader of the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation.
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17. GARY KIRKE: He has been been contributing to campaigns since 1964. Kirke, 71, was an insurance executive and later a gaming resort and real estate developer. He's an institution in Iowa politics — and unpredictable. He got on a plane last cycle in an attempt to entice Chris Christie into the race. When the field was set, he endorsed Rick Perry. This fall, when Mitt Romney was in Iowa, he asked the 2012 nominee to run again in 2016, and would immediately back him if he does.
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18. JONI SCOTTER: The ebullient Linn County activist is a good luck charm for GOP insiders and a media favorite. Scotter, 72, of Marion, is consistently a top-volume telephone caller, reaching out to voters on behalf of a campaign that has caught her eye. Mitt Romney in a recent public speech called her one of his heroes. When she endorses in 2016, her chosen candidate will do a splashy news release.
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19. CARY GORDON: The 41-year-old Sioux City minister, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and abortion, has a passionate following through the church where he's executive pastor, Cornerstone World Outreach.
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20. DREW IVERS: He organized the Ron Paul liberty conservatives' takeover of state party headquarters in 2012. Other factions overthrew them in April 2014, but the Paulistas lie in wait to rip to shreds the candidates who annoy them or love to death those who appeal to their brand of socially conservative libertarianism. Few are better at Iowa grassroots than Ivers, 68, of Hamilton County. And he's close to former party chairman A.J. Spiker, who has already been scooped up by Team Rand Paul.
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21. BRUCE RASTETTER: Rastetter, a rural Hardin County Republican who earned wealth in swine production and ethanol, can put resources behind a campaign or a PAC. Last cycle, Rastetter, 58, wavered between endorsing Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich but ended up endorsing no one.
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22. CHUCK LARSON: Larson, 46, is a principal at LS2group, a Des Moines-based bipartisan public relations, public affairs and marketing firm. He will be active with a 2016 campaign. Larson has extensive Iowa contacts and is close to national operatives, including Marshalltown native Terry Nelson of FP1 Strategies, a key figure in Rick Perry's national network.
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23. STEVE SCHEFFLER: Scheffler, 66, of West Des Moines, is one of Iowa's two representatives to the Republican National Committee, and president of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, a Christian conservative organization that holds sway because of its contact network and the size of its candidate-attracting fundraising dinners.
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24/25. CAROL AND MARY EARNHARDT: This is a mother-daughter duo. Carol Earnhardt is an uber volunteer in party politics in the Davenport area. She was just re-elected to the Scott County Board of Supervisors, where she has been known to keep politics at bay in service to progress on mental health care and economic development issues. Carol, 63, is the mother of Mary Earnhardt, a former lobbyist respected by fiscal conservatives and tax reform advocates. Mary, 38, of West Des Moines, recently helped Carly Fiorina mobilize women for Joni Ernst and other conservative female candidates, and is now working full time for Fiorina's PAC.
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26. DAVE CARIS: He knows the top business leaders in the Des Moines area and the insiders in statewide politics, and is a good barometer for how center-right GOPers in Iowa are sizing up the presidential field. Caris, the 55-year-old vice president for state government affairs for MidAmerican Energy, chaired the Greater Des Moines Partnership's Government Policy Council in 2014. He's a sharp political observer with an easy-going style who travels comfortably in all circles. He opens doors, and every candidate asks him for donations.
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27. KIM REEM: Reem, 44, of Marion, blankets Linn County with her Republicanism. She's a leader with the Iowa Federation of Republican Women, the Linn Eagles PAC (which helps elect GOP candidates from Linn County) and Purse PAC (which helps elect conservative women). She also founded a faith-based athletic program for home-schooled students in the Cedar Rapids area. Another IFRW activist from Cedar Rapids, Kathy Pearson, will be a 2016 player, too.
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28. DON KASS: He's the dean of county chairs of northwest Iowa. Kass, a 49-year-old farmer and Plymouth County GOP chairman, makes sure that GOP campaign offices are open, that caucus locations are set up, that the GOP has a booth at the county fair, and that his flock of Republicans gets out to vote. And his endorsement is the gold standard for conservatives who know him.
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29. JOHN SMITH: This Cedar Rapids businessman, who has big clout in the trucking industry here and abroad, writes checks and offers perspective. Smith, 66, employs Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett and Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, both of whom also will be influencers in the 2016 caucuses.
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30. KAREN FESLER: This Johnson County Republican has crossover pull. She's a Christian conservative with tight ties in mainstream GOP politics in Iowa. Fesler, 61, a former small business owner, has led economic development groups there and is now on a county committee studying jail and courthouse issues. Last cycle, she went with Rick Santorum.
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31. DAVID OMAN: He's a former chief of staff to Govs. Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, a former media and entertainment executive, Iowa GOP co-chairman from 1985 to 1993, and a candidate for governor in 1998. Oman, 62, of Des Moines, went big for Mitt Romney last cycle, and has a fresh bank of contacts from his work as Joni Ernst's finance chairman in 2014.
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32. LORI JUNGLING: This 44-year-old former retail sales manager sees politics as sales, and Twitter is one of her favorite sales floors. Jungling, now an Altoona stay-at-home mom, was all in for Santorum last cycle, but she's now one of four national co-leaders of the grassroots "Mike Huckabee for America 2016" group.
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33. DARRELL KEARNEY: He's one of the best fundraisers for GOP money in Iowa, dating to the 1960s. Kearney, 73, of Des Moines, is a former Polk County GOP leader.
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34. CODY HOEFERT: As former Lyon County GOP chairman, he has made sure Republican presidential candidates don't take for granted this bastion of Republicanism in the upper left corner of the state. Hoefert, a 37-year-old chiropractor, gets attention for his height — he's 7 feet — and for his love of politics. He's also now co-chairman of the state party.
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35. GABE HAUGLAND: Haugland, a 32-year-old lawyer who led more than 50 combat missions in Operation Enduring Freedom, is a former chairman of the Cerro Gordo County GOP and a member of the state party's leadership committee. Haugland has pledged to stay neutral in the caucuses, but is someone conservative candidates will seek out for tips. He was a Rick Perry guy in 2012.
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36. DAVID KOCHEL: He's the top GOP campaign strategist in Iowa, and several presidential campaign teams will fight to get him on their side as a key national strategist. Kochel, 50, founder of Des Moines-based Redwave Communications and Redwave Digital, is smart, tactical and ruthless in pursuit of victory. Chances are his choice will be the eventual mainstream consensus pick. He was one of the architects of Joni Ernst's victory over Bruce Braley, and was Mitt Romney's chief Iowa strategist in 2008 and 2012.
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37. BOB HAUS: He's known as a language and messaging genius. Haus, 54, of Urbandale, has helped candidates in every caucus cycle since 1988, including as manager of Phil Gramm's 1996 Iowa campaign and senior adviser to Steve Forbes in 2000. Haus was Rick Perry's state chairman in 2012 and remains aligned with the Texas governor for 2016.
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38. JAKE KETZNER: This 29-year-old regular-guy Iowan is the go-to strategist for nuts-and-bolts campaign management. Ketzner, of Clive, is credited with orchestrating the 2014 Branstad juggernaut, considered one of the best campaigns ever seen in Iowa. And he guided U.S. Rep. Steve King through his toughest re-election fight, against former first lady Christie Vilsack, in 2012.
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39. SARA CRAIG GONGOL: GOP insiders consider Gongol, 30, to be a bare-knuckles strategist and organizational brawler. Her new organization, Priorities for Iowa, attracted $2 million in donations in 2014, and she oversaw some of the most potent TV and Internet attacks on Bruce Braley. She managed Mitt Romney's 2012 Iowa caucuses effort and his Virginia campaign in the general election. She works out of Redwave Communications.
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40. JEFF BOEYINK: Boeyink, 52, has gained clout after moving over the years from president of Iowans for Tax Relief to state party executive director to Branstad chief of staff/campaign manager to partner at the powerhouse LS2Group in Des Moines.
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41. CHAD OLSEN: The executive director at the Republican Party of Iowa is one of the few leaders that all the GOP factions trust. Olsen, 44, of Guthrie County, is a skilled get-out-the-vote tactician and a mentor to young operatives. Olsen will remain neutral in the caucuses — unless, perhaps, the right campaign makes him the right offer.
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42. MARK LUCAS: This high-energy former Army platoon leader is a regional director for Americans for Prosperity, a fiscally conservative organization funded partly by mega-rich social liberal David Koch and his brother Charles Koch. Lucas, 32, of Johnson County, leads a well-bankrolled effort in Iowa and other early states to whip up grassroots interest in limited government. He won't endorse, and AFP won't tell caucusgoers whom to vote for, but their anti-Democrat TV ads and their five Iowa field offices will have a big footprint in the caucuses.
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43. TIM ALBRECHT: For four years, this 37-year-old was the face of Branstad's office as the governor's communications director. National reporters think of him as the epitome of Iowa nice. Albrecht, of West Des Moines, has worked on several campaigns, including Mitt Romney's and Steve Forbes' presidential bids. He's now a Kochel ally at Redwave Digital.
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44. STEVE GRUBBS: Grubbs, 50, of Davenport, has picked up Iowa expertise as a legislator in the 1990s, as state party chairman in 1997-98, and on presidential campaigns in Iowa for Steve Forbes, Bob Dole, Tommy Thompson and Herman Cain. Grubbs runs a Quad Cities-based firm, Victory Enterprises, with another 2016 strategist, Brian Dumas. Grubbs was hired in June by Rand Paul's political action committee.
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45. CHUCK LAUDNER: He's the famed driver of the "Chuck Truck" that ferried Rick Santorum to every corner of the state when the Pennsylvania Republican was virtually anonymous as a presidential candidate. Laudner, 49, of Floyd County, has a knack for running a campaign with almost no money and no staff. He's a former executive director of the state party and a Steve King confidant, with deep connections in the party's conservative and tea party factions.
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46. PHIL VALENZIANO: This field-organizing pit bull is an adopted Iowan who's originally from New Jersey and still talks like an East Coast longshoreman. Valenziano, 29, of West Des Moines, was Romney's Iowa field director and New Hampshire state director in 2012. Watch for Chris Christie to recruit him if the New Jersey governor runs.
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47. JOHN STINEMAN: When national political writers are trying to get a thermometer reading on Iowa, Stineman, a principal at Strategic Elements, offers honest answers. He has a long resume in campaign politics, including as manager of Steve Forbes' Iowa effort. Stineman, 42, of West Des Moines, is working with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch to push immigration reform.
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48. GRANT YOUNG: He's the dean of Republican field organizers in Iowa, dating to Bush 2000. Young, 37, was most recently senior adviser to the Iowa GOP's 2014 Victory operation and trouble-shooter for the program's 12 field offices. The Young family's garage parties in Jewell are not only a hub of Hamilton County GOP activity, but also have become a stop for Iowa candidates and presidential hopefuls.
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49. CHRISTOPHER RANTS: Rants, a 47-year-old former Iowa House speaker from Sioux City, is known as a clever strategist and policymaker in mainstream GOP politics. He relishes the fight. Rants now runs inSight Communications, a government relations firm. He has a political megaphone with a regular opinion column in the Sioux City Journal. He's likely to do paid work for a campaign or PAC in 2016.
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50. FALICIA MANDEL: She was finance director for Joni Ernst's campaign. Mandel, 27, of West Des Moines, comes from California and Washington, D.C., but is staying put in Iowa. Now that talented GOP fundraiser Nicole Schlinger has phased out of major donor work to focus on call center and grassroots fundraising, Mandel is one of the best games in town. She's organizing the fundraising effort for Gov. Terry Branstad's upcoming inaugural celebration.
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About the writer
The Des Moines Register's list of the 50 Most Wanted Republicans was compiled and written by chief politics writer Jennifer Jacobs. She keeps tabs on all things political in Iowa. Contact her at jejacobs@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JenniferJJacobs.