State GOP Central Committee chooses first Tues. of the New Year to hold its caucuses, says “the date is in stone, period.”

Central Committee’s Steve Scheffler: “There is no chance we will reconvene to change the date.”

PLUS: Bachmann to spend nearly all her time in Iowa pre-caucuses.

AND: IA GOP Chair targets Silver State: “Time remains for Nevada to respect the process, honor tradition and rectify the problem in a way that will restore order to the nomination calendar.”

Statement of Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn

“On behalf of over 600,000 Iowa Republicans, I’m excited to announce the first step Iowans will have to replace Barack Obama and his failed presidency will be next January 3 at our First in the Nation Iowa Caucuses. A January 3 date provides certainty to the voters, to our presidential candidates, and to the thousands of statewide volunteers who make
the Caucus process a reflection of the very best of our representative democracy.

I will do everything in my power on the RNC to hold Florida accountable for creating this mess, but the culpability for creating a compressed January calendar does not end there. The actions of early state newcomer Nevada have also exacerbated this problem and unnecessarily crowded the January calendar. Time remains for Nevada to respect the process, honor
tradition and rectify the problem in a way that will restore order to the nomination calendar.”

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