Iowa GOP Schedules First Presidential Caucuses For January 15

State GOP officials announced that next year’s Iowa Republican presidential caucuses will be held on January 15, 2024. This date is three weeks earlier than the past two primary cycles, which were both held on the first Monday in February.

This means that the New Hampshire primary will most likely take place eight days after the Iowa caucuses, on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. The state GOP in South Carolina set its primary date last month as February 24, 2024.

Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada are the four traditional “carve-out” states, which hold the first presidential debates and are meant to allow an equal playing field for candidates early on in the election cycle. Nevada will most likely hold its caucuses sometime in February, as well.

In addition to the Republican caucuses, Iowa’s state Democratic party is planning on holding its nominating contest, though they do not agree on the date that GOP officials chose. The Democratic National Committee has picked South Carolina as the location of the first debate, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire.

South Carolina’s Democratic party-run primary is scheduled for February 3, 2024. However, New Hampshire state law requires at least seven days between their primary and any other primary, which will likely force South Carolina to move the date up to January 23.

The Iowa Republican presidential caucuses will fall on a Monday, which is a federal holiday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day.