The offer is simple: come to the Sac County Republicans’ summer fundraiser, announce you’re running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, and you will get a portion of any money raised that day.

Sac County (Source: Wikipedia)

Sac County (Source: Wikipedia)

The Sac County Republican Central Committee will host several potential gubernatorial candidates at their summer fundraiser on Saturday, June 27. Confirmed guests include state Sen. Jerry Behn, former House Speaker Christopher Rants, state Rep. Rod Roberts and Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats. If any of them announce their candidacy, the party will share proceeds from the event with their campaigns, a move sure to garner some attention.

“Weeks before we put this together, I kept hearing about candidates who were not candidates. People who were not running for governor but still running around the state shaking hands and kissing babies and raising money,” said Brian Krause, chair of the Sac County Republican Party. “So I said, if we want to have these guys out, lets tease them a little and invite them to announce at our event.”

And an idea was born.

Invitations were sent out to any potential candidate the county party believed was serious about jumping in the race. Besides the four confirmed guests, several others also received invitations, including former state Sen. Jeff Lamberti.

“I really think Jeff Lamberti will get in this thing, but he had a prior engagement out of state that day,” Krause said. “There are a couple other guys out there, and the way I’ve left it with them is that if they get serious enough to attend our event, they can still let me know.”

Ultimately, Krause knows it’s unlikely he’ll see a formal announcement at his event.

“In all reality, I understand that Chris Rants is from Sioux City and he’ll announce there, and Bob Vander Plaats will announce in Sheldon,” he said. “I bounced it off Rob Roberts, since he represents two precincts in Sac County, and he laughed and said it was intriguing and he didn’t find it at all offensive. So we ran with it.”

The goal, Krause said, has less to do with making headlines and more to do with his county having a role in the gubernatorial campaign. The Iowa Caucuses give the Hawkeye State a disproportionate impact on the presidential elections, he said, because they happen first. Sac County may only have 12,000 residents, but the same benefits of being first could apply.

“If we get out early on this thing, maybe we can disproportionately play a part in this process of the governor’s race,” he said.

The fundraiser will begin at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast served at the Chautauqua Building in Sac City. At 9 a.m., the program will begin with each potential candidate allowed to make brief remarks. Tickets are $10 per person.