Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will return to Iowa on November 9, returning to the state that holds the country's first-in-the-nation caucuses. These are dominated by social conservatives who Palin appeals to as strongly as she resonates with independent-minded fiscal conservatives.
Palin will be a speaker at a Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) event that will honor Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who led the fight to defund Obamacare along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
"We are thrilled and honored that Gov. Palin has confirmed to address Iowa's top conservative activists, as we kick off the 2014 election cycle," FFC president Steve Scheffler said. "Without a doubt, her appearance will motivate activists to be involved in grassroots politics here in Iowa that will help turn the tide here in Iowa, by electing more family-friendly public officials at all levels."
As David Brody at the Christian Broadcasting Network noted, the appearance will underscore Palin's influence among conservatives, especially those in Iowa, regardless of whether she decides to run for president in 2016. If she does not, her endorsement will be the most coveted among the GOP presidential contenders.
One of the reasons Palin has been called the prototypical "Teavaneglical" politician is because she fervently appeals to faith-based voters as much as she does to fiscally conservative voters. Her influence was proven during the 2012 cycle when she praised Rick Santorum in December in 2011 when Iowans seemed lukewarm about the field of Republican primary candidates. After Palin made her remarks on December 2 on Fox News's Hannity, Santorum, who was at four percent in the polls in Iowa--barely above Jon Huntsman, who was not even competing in the state--started getting momentum and eventually won the caucus a month later. Though Santorum had gone "all-in" in Iowa and planted his campaign exclusively in the state, voters were persuaded to consider his candidacy more seriously after Palin spoke kindly of him.
