Iowa GOP picks Jan. 3 as likely caucus date

Republican leaders in Iowa have set Jan. 3 as the tentative date for the first-in-the-nation caucuses, two members of the Iowa Republican State Central Committee said Friday.

The informal selection of Jan. 3 pre-empts a pending decision by New Hampshire about when to hold its primary that could have pushed the Iowa caucuses into December.

{mosads}“Among Iowa Republicans, the consensus is we want to be in January since everything is moving up, and we don’t want to be in December,” committee member A.J. Spiker told The Hill. “January 3rd is a great day to preserve the first-in-the-nation caucus status.”

Spiker said the committee came to agreement during a Thursday night conference call, and that the state GOP chairman can announce the date at any time. He added that the central committee will meet in about 10 days to formalize the date.

News of the date was first reported by The Des Moines Register.

An GOP source familiar with the negotiations said the announcement was earlier than participants had anticipated, but that Iowa Republicans have had many discussions about the schedule in the last few days with New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who determines when the Granite State will vote.

“They have been in touch with New Hampshire and are in discussions with them to finalize things,” the source said.

The release of the date puts additional pressure on Gardner, who has been warned by some Republicans that if he moves his date to Jan. 3 and forces Iowa into December, New Hampshire could lose its privileged status as the first-in-the-nation primary. After Nevada set its caucuses for Jan. 14, there was speculation New Hampshire would pick the Jan. 3 date. GOP leaders have been pressuring the state to pick Jan. 10.

“Now New Hampshire cannot jump in front of us in 2012,” said Drew Ivers, another committee member who also chairs Ron Paul’s Iowa campaign. “I think they’re bluffing, personally. He’s already said he won’t make a decision for three more weeks. Putting a primary together is a lot less complicated than a caucus.”

The calendar for Republican presidential primary contests has been in a state of chaos since Florida announced a few weeks ago that it would hold its primary Jan. 31. That set off a scramble by the early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — to move their contests even earlier to preserve their place at the front of the pack.

– This post was updated at 3:53 p.m.