The first Republican presidential debates did not affect U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s plans to remain neutral before the 2016 Iowa caucuses.  

Ryan Matheny reported for KMA radio on August 8 that Ernst said she won’t endorse before the caucuses because “Iowa voters are well-positioned” to choose a presidential contender based on the issues. She added that she hopes the Republican nominee will have “leadership ability, something that I feel has been lacking for quite awhile [….] Americans are hungry for a leader.”

Shortly after her election to the U.S. Senate, Ernst told Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson, “I do not intend to endorse anyone” before the caucuses, saying she would “welcome” all interested candidates to Iowa. In June, seven GOP presidential contenders came to Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” fundraiser for her political action committee: Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, and Marco Rubio, who endorsed Ernst during the 2014 GOP primary campaign for U.S. Senate.

Iowa’s senior Senator Chuck Grassley told reporters last year that he didn’t plan to endorse before the caucuses, although he left the door cracked open: “I wouldn’t want to say that I’m never going to get involved.” I’ll be shocked if Grassley publicly chooses a favorite in the GOP field. He didn’t do so before the highly competitive caucuses in 1988, 2008, or 2012. The only years Grassley endorsed early in the presidential nominating process were 1996 (when Bob Dole was both his longtime Senate colleague and the establishment favorite) and 2000 (when Grassley backed George W. Bush).

Grassley has rarely endorsed in competitive Iowa Republican primaries for any office. One exception was 1994, when he encouraged then-Representative Fred Grandy to drop his challenge to sitting Governor Terry Branstad.

I expect Grassley to stay neutral during what will likely be a hard-fought GOP gubernatorial race in 2018. In contrast, Ernst will surely endorse Lieutenant Governor (or perhaps by then sitting governor) Kim Reynolds early. You can take that to the bank. Reynolds was one of the first to get behind Ernst for U.S. Senate, encouraging her to run months before formally endorsing her in October 2013.

Any relevant comments are welcome in this thread.

P.S.- The University of Iowa and Iowa State University drew criticism after both schools’ official mascots appeared at Ernst’s Roast and Ride. Representatives for the universities later clarified that Herky the Hawkeye and Cy the Cyclone should not attend partisan political events.