Iowa GOP schedules first 2024 presidential caucuses for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Iowa Republican Party scheduled the first GOP presidential nominating caucuses of the 2024 election on Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The announcement Saturday comes after the Democratic National Committee said last year it would no longer kick off its presidential nominating process in Iowa, opting to instead have South Carolina's primary replace Iowa in the first spot.

"After our state legislature and governor took needed action earlier this year to preempt Iowa Democrats' plans to derail the Iowa Caucus by running a de facto primary election instead, we are also proud to affirm that Iowa will continue to honor our half-century-old promises to the other carveout states," Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. 

"We remain committed to maintaining Iowa's cherished First-in-the-Nation Caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024," he also said.

Unlike state-sponsored primary elections, caucuses are contests that the parties plan, finance and carry out. 

South Carolina's Democratic Primary is scheduled for Feb. 3.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.