Iowa Republicans like Governor Terry Branstad are joining with Iowa Democrats to urge presidential candidates to participate in an event sponsored by the Iowa Brown and Black Forum.
The Iowa Brown and Black Forum has hosted debates featuring Democratic presidential candidates since the 1984 campaign, but Republicans are proposing a forum for their candidates, too, in early December. Wayne Ford of Des Moines, a former state legislator, is a co-founder of the group, and he’s celebrating the move by Iowa Republicans.
Critics of the Iowa Caucuses say the state’s voters are predominantly white and issues of importance to minorities don’t get enough attention. Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann says having G-O-P candidates attend the forum and speak directly to Iowa’s Latino and African American communities puts issues of concern to minorities at the forefront of the 2016 campaign conversation.
