Jeff Flake: GOP presidential candidates should maybe think about skipping Iowa

Iowa’s place on the presidential primary calendar is “one of the very unfortunate parts of the presidential primary structure for Republicans,” Flake said. “Often we spend so much time trying to win Iowa we can’t win the rest of the states.”

The perception that Iowa Republicans won’t support a proponent of immigration reform encourages some candidates to take more anti-immigration stances than they otherwise might. Flake joked that perhaps Arizona’s primary should replace Iowa’s on the Republican primary calendar. But failing that, he advised pro-immigration reform Republican candidates such as former Gov. Jeb Bush to just skip the state.

“Some people skip Iowa. That’s not unheard of. McCain basically did… It’s tough to take positions in Iowa that don’t play as well in New Hampshire. So some candidates may just say, ‘hey, we’ll skip it and move on,’” Flake said. “And frankly a lot of Republicans appreciate those who come there and say, I’m sorry, I just don’t agree with Steve King… or other voices on this issue.”