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Garrett Gobble| Guest columnist

The Iowa Republican presidential caucuses might be nearly a year away, but the fight for the Hawkeye States 40 delegates is already heating up.

Politicians with presidential aspirations, both declared and undeclared, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have all visited the home of the first-in-the-nation Republican presidential primary caucus to pitch their policy platforms to voters. And already, rifts in candidates' positions on critical issues, most notably Social Security, have begun to bubble up, and debate around essential retirement benefits has taken center stage.

And for good reason.

Social Security provides critical benefits to millions of Americans across the country, folks who have paid into the program for decades to provide a foundation of income during retirement. In Iowa alone, nearly 700,000 people receive monthly Social Security benefits, and most of these people depend on the fixed income that the program provides to make ends meet.

Social Security provides essential benefits to Iowans and the program is incredibly popular. One AARP poll found that 85% of Americans over the age of 50, a demographic that makes up two-thirds of the electorate and often decides the outcome of critical elections, oppose making cuts to Social Security. In Iowa, 96% of people support the idea of maintaining Social Security and Medicare, according to Public Policy Polling, and one survey also by the company found that 63% of Hawkeye State residents would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports making cuts to entitlement programs.

Despite those facts, not every Republican presidential candidate or potential candidate visiting the state has expressed their steadfast support for programs that hundreds of thousands of Iowans depend on to make ends meet in retirement. Haley has proposed raising the retirement age, and Pence has stated that cuts to Social Security should be on the table for the long term.

Hutchinson has supported short-changing retirement benefits in the past. However, theres still time for these candidates to reverse course and commit to Social Security.

They could, for example, follow the lead of DeSantis, who as a member of Congress voted to support cuts to Medicare and Social Security. However, since taking office as governor of Florida, where over 20% of people are over the age of 65, DeSantis has listened to voters and promised to protect Social Security, telling reporters that hes not going to mess with Americans retirement benefits. Now, we look to the governor to make sure he sticks to that promise.

There simply isnt a road to the White House for a candidate pushing for cuts to critical retirement programs Americans depend on, and voters here in Iowa have made it clear that they wont support a candidate who is willing to jeopardize the benefits they rely on to make ends meet. Right now, every Republican presidential candidate should make their commitment to Social Security loud and clear.

Garrett Gobble represented Ankeny in the Iowa Legislature from 2021 to 2023.

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Opinion: Protecting Social Security is key for candidates in Iowa - Des Moines Register