Iowa's Republican governor to hold interviews with GOP presidential candidates at state fair

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FIRST ON FOX: It is an invitation in the state where caucuses lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar that nearly all the GOP White House candidates will find hard to resist.

Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is inviting all the GOP presidential hopefuls to join her for "Fair Side Chats" next month at the Iowa State Fair.

Reynolds' political team says the one-on-one style interviews "will go beyond just the issues of a presidential campaign and allow fairgoers to see who the candidates really are."

The governor shared her news first with Fox News Digital and in an appearance on "Fox and Friends" on Monday morning.

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IGov. Kim Reynolds speaks to guests before signing into law a bill that will ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy during a visit to the Family Leadership Summit on July 14, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Iowa State Fair – held annually in August at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines – has been a must-stop for decades for presidential contenders of both major political parties in the year ahead of the nominating contests.

Reynolds' interviews will take place at JR’s South Pork Ranch at the fairgrounds and will be scheduled throughout the duration of the Iowa State Fair, which this year is being held Aug. 10-20. The governor's team highlights that Reynolds interviews with the presidential candidates will be open to fairgoers and the media.

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"I couldn’t be more excited to host the Presidential Candidates at our world-class Iowa State Fair, showcasing all we have to offer," Reynolds said in a statement to Fox News. "These one-on-one ‘Fair-Side Chats’ offer the candidates an incredible opportunity to share their message directly with Iowans. With just 6 months to go until the Iowa Caucus, it’s crunch time!"

The Iowa GOP announced earlier this month that the 2024 presidential caucuses will be held on Jan. 15.

The Iowa Caucuses display at the State Historical Museum of Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2020. (Fox News)

The Reynolds campaign says it has already spoken with a number of presidential candidates and is in the process of finalizing dates. Reynolds aides say all the candidates in the field of over a dozen Republican White House contenders have been invited.

That includes former President Trump, who is the commanding front-runner in the latest GOP presidential nominations polls in Iowa, other early voting states and in national surveys, as he makes his third straight White House run.

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Trump last week criticized Reynolds - a popular two-term governor - for staying neutral in the race for the GOP presidential nomination race.

"I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!" the former president wrote on Truth Social.

In 2017, Trump nominated longtime Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as U.S. ambassador to China. Reynolds – who was lieutenant governor at the time – succeeded Branstad as governor. The then-president endorsed Reynolds ahead of her narrow election in 2018 to a full term in office. Reynolds was easily re-elected by 19 points last year.

Reynolds' pledge to stay neutral in the presidential nomination race is in line with previous Iowa governors. Iowa's all-Republican congressional delegation is also staying neutral as the large field of 2024 presidential contenders descends on their state.

The governor joined Trump in March in Davenport, as the former president made his first stop in Iowa as a 2024 candidate. Reynolds did not join Trump when he returned to the state in early June and again earlier this month.

Former President Trump greets supporters accompanied by Gov. Kim Reynolds during a campaign rally, in Davenport, Iowa, March 13, 2023. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Trump's comments came two days after the New York Times reported that some Trump advisers had privately complained about Reynolds' multiple appearances with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on the campaign trail.

DeSantis is second in nearly all the latest polls, trailing Trump by double digits but ahead of the rest of the field of candidates, who are all in the single digits. 

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A source in Trump's political orbit told Fox News that campaign officials are not frustrated with Reynolds and point to Trump's overwhelming front-runner position right now in Iowa.

Trump took plenty of incoming fire for his criticism of Reynolds, and a Republican state senator who had endorsed the former president switched his support to DeSantis due to the incident.