Hillary Clinton will headline a December 9 fundraiser in West Des Moines, her first fundraiser in the critical caucus state, according to an invite obtained by CNN.
The evening fundraiser is part of a broader Iowa swing for the 2016 Democratic front-runner. She will also headline a public town hall in the Des Moines area, according to aides.
Clinton has personally headlined more than 150 fundraisers in 35 states and Washington, D.C., during the first eight months of her campaign. And while she has headlined fundraisers in other early nominating states — namely New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — the $2,700-a-person event hosted by Susan and William Knapp will be her first in the state that first votes for presidential candidates.
The Knapps are well known business people in the Des Moines area. William Knapp is the Chairman Emeritus of Knapp Properties, a Des Moines based development and investment company.
Clinton, whose campaign declined to comment on why it has waited months to fundraise in the Hawkeye State, has headlined two fundraisers in Nevada and South Carolina and one in New Hampshire since launching her campaign earlier this year.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has also raised money in Iowa, headlining one fundraiser earlier August 5.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, too, has fundraised in Iowa, headlining an October grassroots fundraising house party in Iowa City.
Jeff Danielson, an Iowa state senator and Clinton supporter, said he was not “surprised” that this was her first Iowa fundraiser and justified the fact by saying Democrats “don’t tend to raise large sums of money in Iowa.”
“Iowa is not traditionally a large donor state,” Danielson said. “It may be the fact that she hadn’t gotten around to it or people haven’t really offered yet. My experience has been that the candidates tend to do more localized fundraisers and it is usually in support of the local candidate.”
The Clinton backer added, “I will say that this cycle there has been a lot less of that than I have experienced on the Democratic side.”
