U.S. Senator Joni Ernst will be hosting her annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser on June 3 and it could be a showcase for some of the GOP’s 2024 presidential candidates.
In June of 2015, seven Republican presidential candidates appeared with Ernst at her first “Roast and Ride” fundraiser. A year later, Donald Trump was the event’s main speaker. Six years ago, Mike Pence — who was vice president at the time — rode a Harley motorcycle down a path to the event’s main stage in Boone. The Ernst campaign has announced tickets are now on sale for the event this June at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and “special guests” will be announced soon.
When Ernst launched her annual “Roast and Ride” event soon after winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, she said her goal was to showcase the party’s top candidates, just as former Senator Tom Harkin had done with his annual “steak fry” for Democratic presidential hopefuls. Ernst, though, serves up pork rather than beef and hosts a motorcycle ride in the morning before the rallies in the afternoon.
Ernst hosted public discussions about foreign policy with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on March 10 and with former Vice President Mike Pence on March 18. Iowa Republicans are set to host Caucuses in early 2024 that will be the first voting event of the next presidential campaign.