Posted on 12/28/2014 10:12:08 PM PST by ObamahatesPACoal
Rep. Steve King has summoned the potential field of 2016 Republican presidential candidates to Iowa next month for his Freedom Summit, and they are jumping at the opportunity — underscoring the conservative firebrand’s political pull and marking the event as the first major gathering of the next campaign for the White House.
Mr. King told The Washington Times that the Jan. 24 gathering in Des Moines will give the kinds of activists who turn out for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses a look at their options and will give the candidates an early reality check.
(SNIP) Though Mr. Santorum achieved victory without Mr. King’s endorsement, he told The Times that he is confident he would have won the caucuses by a wider margin if he had received that backing.
Mr. King did not endorse anyone in the topsy-turvy 2012 contest in Iowa, and Mr. Santorum surmised he probably remained neutral because of his close friendship with Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican.
This time, Mr. Santorum said, Mr. King’s support could be gold.
“Knowing the kind of field that is out there right now, and knowing how close races in Iowa can be, he could take someone who is not in the race and put them in the race, or take someone who is in the race and put them on the top,” Mr. Santorum said. “Steve is a strong, strong asset, and you have to remember, the most Republican areas of the state are the areas that Steve represents.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I certainly hope that Steve King has the wisdom to become an EARLY supporter of Ted Cruz for President in 2016.
Good!
Hmmm... Cruz’s name is among those who have visited Rep King in Iowa. But Cruz’s name is not among those the WaTimes lists as attending the Summit.
Any politician who publically espouses conservative views without apologizing for them is a "firebrand."
I have utmost trust in Steve. Period!
Thanks for that link. Shirley the next POTUS is on that web page! Can easily do without Carly.
I don’t get why he didn’t support Bachmann in 2012.
I don’t get it either, although King is much more cautious than his reputation might indicate.
I own property in Iowa and have a few friends who are politically connected there.
They love Michele Bachmann, who spent unbelievable amounts of time there. Their only explanation is that most Iowa caucus-goers just didn’t see her as presidential material.
Something similar happened to Democrat Chris Dodd in 2008. After almost living in Iowa for a year, he had very little support, but Dems didn’t really have anything negative to say about him.
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