DES MOINES, Iowa | Ready for some presidential politics in the middle of Christmas? Campaign volunteers elbowing carolers off the front porch? How about some really nasty brochures in the mailbox alongside the Christmas card That is the prospect facing voters in Iowa now that the Iowa Republican Party has moved the date of its presidential precinct caucuses to Jan. 3, the earliest in history.
It is also a challenge facing presidential candidates, who do their most aggressive campaigning in the weeks leading up to Iowa s caucuses, which traditionally lead off voting for the two major party nominations. For front-runners, the weeks just before the caucuses are the key time to solidify their lead. For challengers looking to move up or who face elimination, it is the time to grab voters attention and overtake candidates ahead of them.
Hotly worded charges fly, the airwaves are filled with attacks, and mailboxes bulge with campaign literature. But this time, it is also Christmas season. We have to be careful, said Gentry Collins, the Iowa campaign director for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The average family doesn t want campaigns calling or knocking on the door during the holidays. Then there is the question of how to compete on TV with all the holiday ads.
An ad about the threat of a terrorist attack might not feel right before one with smiling children opening gift-wrapped toys. And it is far from certain that the campaigns can get their volunteers out to knock on doors and make phone calls during the holidays. It certainly complicates things for the campaigns, said Peverill Squire, a political scientist at the University of Iowa. They want to build up to the caucuses. But they re going to find that difficult to do with Christmas and New Year s.