Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to return to Iowa in July, sparking more rumours about a potential 2024 presidential bid, as the ex-top diplomat has previously refused to rule out the possibility.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity recently in March, Pompeo signalled a “strong maybe” for a White House run – but only if the Republican Party's top star Donald Trump doesn’t decide to enter the race for the third time.
Now, the former CIA director is also making a trip to the state which is at the center of the national election cycle. In March, Trump’s main diplomat visited the Hawkeye State’s Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, and is now planning to headline the 10th annual Leadership Summit for social conservative group The FAMiLY this summer.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: @mikepompeo confirmed as speaker for 2021 FAMiLY Leadership Summit in Des Moines, July 16!#iapol #iapolitics #FLS21
— The FAMiLY LEADER (@theFAMiLYLEADER) May 26, 2021
Tix, details: https://t.co/ERohvXxPqr pic.twitter.com/EWfgUbksR9
For nearly fifty years, Iowa’s caucuses have been opening the presidential nominating cycle for both Republicans and Democrats. The event has been regarded as a strong predictor for a presidential runner’s success throughout the whole campaign – although this belief has waned over time. As such, Joe Biden did not do great in Iowa in comparison to rival Democratic candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders last year, but still managed to secure the party's nomination and later win the White House in November 2020.
Following technical issues associated with a mobile app during the 2020 Democratic caucuses, many in the party have been pushing to end the tradition of having Iowa host the first electoral contest of the presidential cycle, with the caucus process itself increasingly being seen as archaic. But Iowa Republicans remain adamant – the GOP will again hold the nation’s first caucus in the state in 2024 regardless of the Democrats’ plans.
Pompeo’s second visit to the state this year signals to many that he could indeed be preparing a White House bid. Meanwhile, the ex-president, who was reportedly left frustrated with his once close staffers after the 2020 presidential fiasco – an election Trump is still refusing to concede – is strongly hinting that he is willing to try for the presidency again.
Trump is currently expected to hold his signature MAGA rallies in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, while his former Vice President Mike Pence – also a rumoured GOP nominee – is heading to New Hampshire to hold a fundraising event in the nation’s first-presidential-primary state.
