Republicans Set January 15 for Iowa Caucuses

Iowa Republicans voted Saturday to hold party caucuses on January 15, 2024. This coincides with the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, and will be the earliest kickoff to the presidential calendar since 2012.

IT'S OFFICIAL: the date for the 2024 Republican Iowa Caucus has been set for January 15, 2024!

— Iowa GOP (@IowaGOP) July 8, 2023

The 2024 Presidential Election Calendar has been updated to reflect this finalized date.

With its caucuses, Iowa has held the earliest nominating contests since 1972. This has been followed by New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. Both parties have also traditionally held these events on the same day.

It is still unclear how this dynamic will play out in 2024. National Democrats voted earlier this year to upend the calendar, placing South Carolina first on February 3. However, Iowa Democrats have previously said they will caucus on the same day as Republicans, which would be out of compliance with the national party. 

Likewise, New Hampshire has a law on its books requiring it to have the nation's first primary, at least seven days prior to any other state.^{1 1}Since Iowa holds caucuses instead of a traditional primary, there is no conflict with those caucuses occurring first. This most likely means a January 23 primary, which would also be out of compliance with the party.