It’s a good field of candidates for the chairperson position, but I think there’s a clear choice here. I believe the person who can best lead the party rebuilding and unification that needs to happen across Iowa; who can lead the way in candidate identification and development; who can be the most effective fundraiser; who can articulate Republican philosophy in a broad compelling way, and the person who can get the Iowa GOP back to winning ways again, is Ames businessman Matt Randall.

Randall, 33, is the youngest person in the race. But instead of being a disadvantage for him, Offenburger said his age merely allows him to be his own man.

Randall said he thinks his not having been allied with any particular candidate or group in the party could be an asset in his efforts to unify Republicans. Or, as he put it rather bluntly, “I haven’t been anybody’s boy, and I don’t come with an any hidden agenda.”

Offenburger said he knows his party needs a “wholesale rebuilding” after two straight election defeats, and his hope is that leadership will see Randall for what he is — “a key player in the future of not only the Republican Party but also the state of Iowa.”

The Republican Party State Central Committee is expected to pick a new leader Jan. 10.

Several members of the party’s Central Committee said Gopal Krishna, who served as the party’s co-chairman in the late ‘90s and currently serves as its treasurer, and Danny Carroll, the former speaker pro tempore of the Iowa House, are both close to garnering the number of votes needed to win the seat when the committee convenes Jan. 10.

But enough of the 17 committee members remain undecided that the door is still open for another candidate.

“I’m not sure there is a clear front-runner right now,” said Jason Hutchinson, a member of the party’s State Central Committee.

“I know there are some members who see a couple front-runners right now, but I honestly don’t. I think it is still too early to be determined. There are still several candidates who can get there.”

The names that come up most often as other potential chair candidates are Matt Strawn, co-owner of the Iowa Barnstormers arena football team, and Paul Pate, former Iowa Secretary of State and mayor of Cedar Rapids.

Several committee members said the voting process could be long and drawn out, with no candidate easily getting the majority needed to win the position.

Committee member Isaiah McGee, who also serves as a councilman in Waukee, said he is pleased with all the candidates but hasn’t heard enough from any one of them to make a decision. Additionally, he said if no one emerges who fits the qualifications the party needs, the process should start over.

“If at the end of the day, no candidate meets all the qualifications that we need as a party chairman then I think we should go back to the drawing board and keep looking,” McGee said.

Every candidate has pluses and minuses, McGee said, and if the vote goes to multiple ballots, it could be anyone’s race.

Hutchinson agrees, saying the committee members he has spoken with are open to any candidate, even if they say they already have a preference.

“A lot can change before we finally vote,” he said. “Once we see everyone’s plan for the party’s future, that could change everything. I personally remain completely undecided, and I think a majority of members feel the same way.”

Central Committee will host a forum from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 27 at GOP headquarters for the public to meet the candidates for chairman and co-chairman. But McGee said many members won’t be able to attend due to the meeting being scheduled so close to the holidays.

Party seeks unity

Several common themes emerged in conversations with committee members about what they are looking for in the next chair, the first and foremost being an ability to unify a fractured party.

Moderates within the party are arguing that the RPI’s drift to the right has hurt party in recent elections. Social conservatives counter that a party thrives when it sticks to its core principles, and in Iowa the GOP has been defeated of late because it has forsaken those values.

Each of the declared candidates seems likely to appeal to the social conservative wing of the party, but each has also expressed a desire to make the party more inclusive.

Hutchinson said the ability of the next chair to bring everyone under the same tent would determine the party’s success for years to come.

“This has become a fractionalized party,” Hutchinson said. “The last two cycles haven’t been particularly kind to Republicans, and when that happens, frustration develops. It tends to make us bicker back and forth. I’m looking for someone who will be able to unite us in a common mission and push forward. I don’t think the divide is as big as it has been made out to be.”

Krishna, the consummate party insider, has become a lightning rod for criticism from the conservative blogosphere, with most critics pointing to his tenure as co-chair, when his fellow Republicans accused him of trying to undermine the party’s leadership. Krishna is dismissive of the bloggers, saying they are trying to create a rift in the party.

But every candidate has his downside, McGee said. The question is what can they bring to the party, and that is what has to be measured, he said.

The party has fallen behind its rival in use of technology, Hutchinson said, which is another thing a party chair must address.

“But technology goes beyond simply having a Facebook page,” McGee said. “You should be able to answer why having a Facebook page is important. How can things like Twitter help us advance our party?”

Fundraising ability will also be key, Hutchinson said.

“Labor injected a lot of money into this last election cycle, so we have got to fund-raise heavily to make up for that advantage the Democrats have,” he said.

With a gubernatorial contest just around the corner, Hutchinson said it is important for a strong leader to be in place in order to ensure the GOP has a viable shot at taking back Terrace Hill.

“Right now our activists, our donors, even our leaders within the party are kind of waiting and looking for leadership to emerge,” he said. “I’m sensing there is a lot of energy out there to move the party forward, but everyone is waiting for a leader to move us forward.”

Ideology aside, the next chair has to be someone who can win elections, McGee said.

“That might be the most important thing,” he said. “You can be against abortion all you want, but you have to be in a position to do something about it.  You can be against the tax policy all you want, but you actually have to be in a position to change the policy. Winning is important, and it’s critical to find someone who understands how to win in the future.”