Republican presidential candidates fought for the spotlight during the first GOP presidential debate of the primary season on Wednesday. In Iowa, all eyes were on the debate as many Republicans remain undecided ahead of the caucus.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds remained quiet throughout the night amid a growing feud between her and front-runner former President Donald Trump. Trump criticized Reynolds last month for staying neutral during the primaries and did not attend Reynolds’ fair-side chats at the Iowa State Fair.
Trump did not attend the debate either, instead participating in an online interview with Tucker Carlson while the debate aired on Fox News.
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks attended the Milwaukee debate, providing a few live updates through X, formerly known as Twitter, during the event.
Miller-Meeks did not voice support for any particular candidate but did applaud North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for debating with a hurt ankle.
“Kudos to Gov. @DougBurgum for standing on the debate stage with a sprained ankle for two hours!” she wrote.
Miller-Meeks’s predecessor Dave Loebsack criticized the representative for attending the debate, voicing support for University of Iowa law professor and Democrat candidate for U.S. House Christina Bohannan.
“Check out @millermeeks. In one of the worst cases of political malpractice I can imagine, she is playing hooky at the Republican debate in Milwaukee instead of meeting with constituents in her own district.
@BohannanIowa will always put her district’s interests ahead of her own,” Loebsack wrote.
Check out @millermeeks. In one of the worst cases of political malpractice I can imagine, she is playing hooky at the Republican debate in Milwaukee instead of meeting with constituents in her own district. @BohannanIowa will always put her district’s interests ahead of her own.
— Dave Loebsack for Iowa (@DaveForIowa) August 23, 2023
Miller-Meeks attended the debate with Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, who voiced her support for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Delighted to be with Sen Chris @CournoyerIA at the RNC debate in Milwaukee. Got some Ruthless action going on! pic.twitter.com/8sFolUNu2m
— Dr. Miller-Meeks (@millermeeks) August 23, 2023
“Strong girls become strong women and strong women become strong leaders. I will always stand with our girls.” –@NikkiHaley #WomenForNikki #PickNikki #RNCdebate #TeamHaley pic.twitter.com/qxZ3iD5Rf2
— Chris Cournoyer (@CournoyerIA) August 24, 2023
Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn wrote that the debate was “homework for January,” referring to the upcoming GOP caucus.
“As Iowans, we have the privilege of leading the country with the first-in-the-nation caucus,” he wrote.
My crew and I are watching the @GOP Presidential Debate.
As Iowans, we have the privilege of leading the country with the first-in-the-nation caucus.
Time to do our homework for January. Tune in to the debate here —> https://t.co/DdoN4PcUsb pic.twitter.com/SAdPOefTzK
— Zach Nunn (@NunnForCongress) August 24, 2023
Admiral Mike Franken, former Democratic Senate candidate who ran against Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2022, criticized the candidates on stage by comparing them to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Tonight’s GOP debate will feature Newt Gingrich’s playbook:
1. Accuse the Dems of your crimes, and
2. Take credit for what the Dems get done.— Admiral Mike Franken (@FrankenforIowa) August 23, 2023
Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, wrote that he was “Ridin with Biden” during the debate, criticizing the candidates for not acting on climate change.
None of the GOP candidates would raise their hand when asked if #ClimateChangeIsReal. Meanwhile President Biden has passed the largest climate investment in history.
That’s why the #youthvote has and will continue to support the Biden-Harris ticket. https://t.co/yaC9C2LoJr
— Eve Levenson (she/her) (@eve_levenson) August 24, 2023
After the debate concluded, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann released a statement on behalf of the Iowa GOP.
“Tonight, Americans heard compelling visions about the future of our country,” the release stated. “It’s clear as day that any of our Republican presidential candidates would bring welcome and desperately needed change from the record of incompetence that we’ve seen from the Biden administration on the economy, our border, and our standing on the world stage.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson also watched the debate but did not provide updates or thoughts throughout the night.
Excited to watch the @GOP debate tonight and to welcome all candidates back to Iowa soon.
Let’s FIRE Joe Biden in 2024 and turn our country around!
— Ashley Hinson (@hinsonashley) August 23, 2023
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley mentioned watching the debate in a post on X about his 69th anniversary with his wife Barbara Grassley, but also didn’t provide any updates throughout the night.
Barbara & I went to That Place in Conrad to celebrate our 69th wedding anniversary We both had the Iowa chop
Now home to watch the 1st presidential debate pic.twitter.com/wz967nYXcn
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 24, 2023
