Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Congressman Steve King (R-IA) have teamed up to help maintain their states’ influence in the choosing the next Republican presidential nominee. Last month, Senator DeMint spoke at an event hosted by Congressman King’s Conservative Principles PAC that featured several prospective presidential candidates. The intent was to introduce these candidates to conservative activists in Iowa and to mobilize them to promote conservative values.
A similar event was held last Saturday near Manchester, NH hosted by former New Hampshire congressional candidate Jennifer Horn’s group, We The People. Both Congressman King and Senator DeMint were there and ended the forum with a panel discussion. They both talked about 2012.
Congressman King said that “values can flow from Iowa, New Hampshire to South Carolina.” He said pulling the results from the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary, South Carolina would then give their stamp of approval. The intent is that whoever has the momentum after those three states would be the eventual nominee.
Senator DeMint said, “conservatives split their votes up and didn’t end up with the best candidate.” He encouraged the group of approximately 300 activists to delay on getting committed to a particular candidate. His goal is to “develop consensus among constitutional conservatives in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina around a viable candidate who would make a strong president.”
King and DeMint plan to hold a similar event to the ones held in Iowa and New Hampshire in order to begin to rally South Carolina conservatives as well.
As a side note, several people I spoke with said, “we’re looking at our ticket up on the stage.” Both men have indicated that they would not run.
Picture by Gage Skidmore
