Scanlan: NH not looking to 'jump ahead' of Iowa but closely watching Democratic moves there

Sep. 11—CONCORD — Secretary of State David Scanlan said he's not looking to "jump ahead" of Iowa on the 2024 nominating calendar but will have to respond if Iowa Democrats push forward with plans to hold a caucus that lets participants vote by mail.

In an interview Monday, Scanlan said such an Iowa event would not be a traditional caucus, and New Hampshire would move up its contest to retain the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

"I am not looking to jump ahead of them," Scanlan said. "That will be determined by what the Iowa Democrats do."

The comments came after Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said he told Gov. Chris Sununu that Scanlan was being a little "over-rambunctious" in pushing back at moves being contemplated by Iowa Democrats.

"I told him, I said, 'I've got some inherent problems with some of the messages I'm hearing out of New Hampshire, that somehow if Iowa Democrats here turn something into a primary, that somehow we're held responsible for that,'" Kaufmann said during the Iowa Press program on Iowa PBS last Friday.

"I said the Iowa Democrats, if they turn that into a primary, we should not — Iowa Republicans should not be held responsible for that, and now there is a new law that defines what a caucus is. It was very, very clear to me that he agreed with me."

Kaufmann claimed Sununu agreed to speak with Scanlan on the matter; Scanlan said the two haven't talked about the topic in months.

Sununu's office put out a statement Monday making it clear the governor shares Scanlan's view.

"The governor and Chairman Kaufmann had a polite and brief conversation in the hallway at the Iowa GOP's Lincoln Dinner two months ago where they both agreed that the Iowa Democrats were creating unnecessary chaos and confusion in the nominating process," the Sununu office statement said.

"If Iowa Democrats continue down the road of creating a primary instead of a caucus, New Hampshire will have no choice but to move ahead in the calendar."

Scanlan read the news reports Monday morning about what GOP leaders from the Hawkeye state said about him.

"I have been called a lot of things before, but 'over-rambunctious' has never been one of them," Scanlan said. "I am not accusing the Iowa Republicans of being responsible for anything."

Scanlan said he made initial comments about the actions of Iowa Democratic leaders last April.

Since then, Scanlan said he had been sitting back and staying out of the controversy as the Iowa Democratic Party has tried to negotiate an early caucus date with the Democratic National Committee.

"I respect the traditional Iowa caucuses, both Republican and Democratic," Scanlan said. "If those are the events that are going to held, the New Hampshire tradition has been to follow that nominating event with the first-in-the-nation presidential primary and I would honor that. The ball is in their court."

Iowa Dems want first spot

Last February, the DNC approved a nominating calendar that pushed Iowa out of the first position, giving it to South Carolina, a state that in 2020 resurrected presidential candidate Joe Biden but has voted Democratic only once in the general election over the past 60 years.

In 2020, Iowa Democratic caucuses were a disastrous production, with the results delayed by errors in reporting that led to the resignation of Iowa Democratic Chair Troy Price.

At Biden's direction, the DNC approved a calendar that put South Carolina first and Nevada second. New Hampshire would share the second position with Nevada, but only if it repeals its first-in-the-nation primary law, which New Hampshire leaders in both parties rejected.

Democratic legislative leaders in New Hampshire endorsed another DNC-demanded reform — no-excuse absentee ballot voting. Sununu opposed the idea, and the Republican-led Legislature killed the bill.

Telling the DNC that it would make the caucus more participatory, Iowa Democrats came up with a proposal to allow for mail-in voting.

In response, Kaufmann supported a bill in the Iowa Legislature, which Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed, requiring all Iowa caucus votes to be cast in person.

Iowa Democratic leaders have suggested support for the Jan. 15, 2024, caucus date chosen by Iowa GOP leaders, but they have not committed to a date.

The DNC rules and bylaws committee meets on Saturday and could shed some light on the status of the controversy.

States have until Oct. 1 to send in their final delegate selection plans to the DNC.

Kaufmann said his state's GOP is committed to ensuring the process is accurate in 2024.

"Whatever we do, I can promise you this: It will be transparent, and media and the rest of Iowans are going to be able to see the results very, very quickly, almost in real time," he said. "And then, of course, we have to have a situation where everything can be audited very quickly. We do not want delays, and we want to be as quick and accurate as possible."

Scanlan said it's still possible the impasse could be broken.

"I just want to understand what their process is going to look like," Scanlan said. "The bottom line is nothing has changed from my original perspective on this, and it won't change."

klandrigan@unionleader.com