Iowa GOP chair riles up Republicans weeks before Election Day

Jeff Kaufmann isn’t worried about Jasper County any longer. The chairman of the state Republican Party joined local Republicans for a rally on Oct. 24 to energize the base, which has since become the majority active party in Jasper County by more than 1,500 registered voters, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

As of Oct. 3, there are 8,532 active Republicans in Jasper County, compared to the 6,975 active Democrats and 7,207 active voters with no party.

“Here in Jasper County you guys just get it, I mean you really do,” Kaufmann said. “You understand the role of the party: It is to win. Your second goal is to win. Your third reason you exist is to win. And the fourth reason you exist is to support your candidates so they will win. That’s what you do.”

In the past four years, the Jasper County Republican Party has fit red candidates in all three seats of the board of supervisors, filled an Iowa Senate seat is the legislature left open by a Democrat and flipped an Iowa House seat when former Rep. Wes Breckenridge decided to resign late last year.

Jasper County is seeing red and has been ever since it elected Donald Trump in 2016 and overwhelming voted for him again in 2020. Which is the same county that voted for Barack Obama twice. Kaufmann commended the local party for its work, noting other counties like Clinton County are also seeing change.

“For the first time in 52 years I think we’re going to take that House seat,” Kaufmann said, referring to the Iowa House District 69 seat.

With his visit to Newton last week, Kaufmann raved about the Republican Party’s efforts to push for school choice and pro-life legislation, as well as the benefits a Trump presidency granted to party members. He fired up the grassroots organizers, the “worker bees” he called them.

“We are going to go places and Jasper County right in the thick of it!”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com