Palin to Headline Iowa Republican Dinner
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the Iowa Republican Party's Ronald Reagan Dinner on September 17th, according to reports. The event marks Palin's first solo political visit to the Hawkeye State, which holds the country's first presidential nominating contest, the Des Moines Register reports.
Since resigning from her post as governor of Alaska last year, Palin has maintained a national presence, most recently appearing at Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" event on the National Mall last weekend, which was billed as a non-political event. She has proven her influence across the country by backing a number of conservative candidates in midterm election races, such as Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller in Alaska, who appears close to defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
It's unclear, however, whether Palin would be a viable presidential candidate.
Nationally, nearly six in 10 Americans say Palin could not be an effective president, a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released on Sunday shows. Republicans, however, are split on the issue, with slightly more saying she could be an effective president.
In Iowa specifically, a June Des Moines Register poll showed that Palin is popular among Iowa Republican voters. However, a July poll commissioned by the Iowa Republican showed that when it came down to choosing a candidate, Palin garnered the support of just 11 percent of Iowa Republicans, putting her in fourth place behind Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
Other potential Republican 2012 candidates have traveled to Iowa recently or plan to travel there later this year, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
