Mike Pence, Tim Scott and Nikki Haley returning to Iowa – The Gazette

Former Vice President Mike Pence thanks the crowd for being leaders in fighting against transgender-affirming policies in schools during a rally at Pizza Ranch in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Four prominent Republicans are planning trips to Iowa, the leadoff caucus state for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be in Iowa this week, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, are planning trips in April.

Mike Pence will travel to Urbandale, Cedar Rapids and Coralville on Wednesday.

In Urbandale, Pence will give remarks at a breakfast hosted by the Westside Conservative Club. He will take part in a fireside chat during a Linn Eagles luncheon in Cedar Rapids with a book signing.

In Coralville, Pence will deliver remarks at the Johnson County Republicans Reagan Dinner.

He was last in the area for a rally last month in Cedar Rapids in support of parents who sued the Linn-Mar Community School District over its transgender-affirming policies.

He returns to Iowa less than two weeks after participating in a foreign policy summit with Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and fielding questions about Trumps apparent pending arrest and calls for protest.

The former vice president criticized the politically charged prosecution of the former president, and warned against violent protest similar to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump called on his supporters to help stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results that he lost.

That day, Trump claimed without merit that as vice president, Pence had the authority to stop the certification and send the process of confirming the election results back to the states. Some of the Jan. 6 protesters could be seen and heard on video chanting, Hang Mike Pence.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley talks with Nancy Bundemer of Mount Carroll, Ill., during a town hall at Legacy Manufacturing in Marion, Iowa, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Bundemer drove two hours to hear Haley speak. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Nikki Haley, who has declared her intent to seek the GOP presidential nomination, will swing through northwest Iowa next month with Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Hull.

Her planned visits include:

This will be Haleys third trip to Iowa since she launched her campaign more than a month ago.

Haley was the keynote speaker at Feenstra's second annual family picnic fundraiser last summer in Sioux Center.

Sen. Tim Scott speaks during an event at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, June 9, 2022. The event featured a panel discussion with Republican Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Tim Scott of South Carolina hosted by Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Fellow South Carolina Republican Tim Scott is also headed back to Iowa in the lead-up to a likely presidential announcement, according to Politico.

Scott plans to travel to Iowa April 12 and New Hampshire on April 13. Details of the trip were still being finalized, a person familiar with Scotts plans told The Gazette.

The planned trips to the early nominating states come ahead of a planned Faith in America donor summit set for April 14 and 15 in Charleston that includes a policy discussion and political update on that Saturday.

Politico reported last week that Scott is expected to reach clarity on a decision to run for president sooner rather than later.

The political news company also reported that Scott plans to make a play for the evangelical Christian vote in Iowa. He met with a group of influential pastors in Des Moines last month and toured a Catholic school in Des Moines alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and met with parents as part of his Faith In America listening tour.

Scott also spoke to Drake University students and was the keynote speaker at the annual Lincoln Dinner hosted by the Polk County Republicans in West Des Moines.

Asa Hutchinson, the GOP former governor of Arkansas who is considering a 2024 presidential run and has urged the Republican Party to move on from Donald Trump, returned to Iowa on Monday and will be traveling the state the next couple of days.

Hutchinson, who also served in the U.S. House and as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration during the George W. Bush administration, was scheduled to speak to the Iowa Bull Moose Club in Des Moines on Monday night.

He is scheduled to speak to the Iowa Capitol Republican Women in Adel, the Drake University College Republicans and the Central Iowa Young Republicans in Des Moines on Tuesday, and to the Polk County Republican Party Luncheon in West Des Moines on Wednesday.

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Mike Pence, Tim Scott and Nikki Haley returning to Iowa - The Gazette

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