Two competing wings of the Republican party squared up for future control of the White House on Friday, as conservative presidential hopefuls gathered for a suddenly even more dramatic meeting in Iowa – and as Florida senator Marco Rubio was reported to be the latest mainstream candidate preparing to seek the 2016 nomination.
Rubio, who is said to be meeting potential donors on Friday and Saturday in Miami to crystallise his plans for a run, would join former governor and long-time mentor Jeb Bush in an unusually crowded offering from one state alone.
Following Bush’s announcement of a fundraising committee this month, his young protege’s apparent decision to explore the presidency highlights a growing challenge for more business-friendly establishment candidates to cut through an increasingly crowded field with early but unofficial declarations to tie up key donors.
Rubio is competing for many of the same corporate backers as Bush and the returning 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who got together in Utah on Thursday for a long-prepared meeting to discuss “the future”.
The Florida senator plans to miss a busy upcoming week in the Senate by taking his fundraising tour to Beverly Hills, Texas and Chicago, according to a report from ABC News.
Rubio’s cross-country swing will be followed by a book tour starting in Des Moines, Iowa, on 13 February and taking in other key primary states such as New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada, an aide told ABC.
But neither Rubio, Bush nor Romney will be present in Iowa this weekend for what is shaping up to the defining moment in the less well-advanced fight – more than 21 months ahead of election day – for support on the right of the party.
Iowa congressman Steve King is hosting 10 top Republicans for a long-running event called the Freedom Summit, with support from Citizens United, the conservative lobbying group that succeeded in diluting US campaign finance limits in the supreme court five years ago this week.
Guests include governors and former governors with their own 2016 aspirations such as Rick Perry of Texas, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas as well as Texas senator Ted Cruz and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who are all expected to burnish their conservative credentials with speeches to potential Iowa primary voters and other national activists.
Most attention, however, will be on the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, who has much less support from conservatives but is attending in the hope of rehabilitating his reputation following last year’s scandal involving the closure of a bridge that was intended to punish political opponents.
Despite that major setback, Christie has positioned himself as an establishment candidate who can still reach floating voters in Democratic states like New Jersey and work with liberals in Washington. But White House watchers maintain that it is crucial for Christie to shore up support on the right side of the Republican party if he is to progress in next year’s primary race.
Nevertheless, appearing in Iowa alongside outspoken conservatives such as King carries its own political risk for national politicians.
The congressman fiercely opposes the immigration reforms that many still see as important for Republicans to address if they are to appeal to non-white voters in future national elections. He sparked controversy again this week by criticising Michelle Obama for bringing a “deportable” to the State of the Union address, a disparaging reference to a 20-year-old student who came to the US when she was one year old.
Democrats are planning to highlight what they see as the Republican party’s unpalatable views on immigration over the weekend, sending “trackers” to monitor the event in search of further gaffes from potential candidates.
