Cotton heads to Iowa to launch ‘Veterans to Victory’ program

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is traveling to Iowa on Tuesday to roll out a new program to help elect Republican military veterans to Congress.

Cotton formally announced the program on Monday ahead of a previously planned trip to Sioux Center for a Iowa state GOP reception. The trip is likely to stir further speculation about a potential 2024 presidential bid by the Arkansas senator. 

The program, dubbed “Veterans to Victory,” has already backed three GOP House incumbents — Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) — ahead of their 2022 reelection bids, according to its website.

“The best way to stop the Biden-Harris agenda is to bring more conservative leaders to Washington. And the skills veterans learn while serving our country make them uniquely qualified to lead,” Cotton said in a statement. “Today, I am launching the ‘Veterans to Victory’ program to give veterans the support they need to win and take back the majority.”

Cotton is a veteran of the Iraq War and has long sought to promote fellow service members who run for office as Republicans.  

Cotton is the latest in a growing list of prospective presidential hopefuls who have made the trip to Iowa in recent months. 

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a visit to the first-in-the-nation caucus state in March. And just last week, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivered the keynote address at the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines.

While potential White House hopefuls have so far brushed off speculation about their future political ambitions, saying that they are focused on boosting Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. 

But the visits to Iowa are also an early opportunity for would-be candidates to introduce themselves to voters and party leaders in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.