三名共和党候选人在1月党团会议之前参加了爱荷华州的一个论坛，这是一个试图证明唐纳德·特朗普不是共和党人唯一愿意接受的总统候选人的大好机会。
在其他地方，特朗普继续留在科罗拉多州的选票上，新罕布什尔州的初选日期现已正式确定。
以下是您上周可能错过的活动更新。
特朗普的替代方案是他们的理由
周五，在爱荷华州的得梅因，三名共和党候选人在一个比竞选中大多数人都更亲密的环境中会面。一张临时的感恩节餐桌取代了辩论台上的讲台，讨论不间断地进行着。
家庭领袖感恩节家庭论坛由该活动背后的著名社会保守组织的主席兼首席执行官Bob Vander Plaats主持。Vander Plaats几十年来一直是共和党和爱荷华州共和党政治中有影响力的福音派人物，他的支持即将到来。
在论坛上，佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)被问及为什么他是比前总统特朗普更好的选择，尽管民调显示德桑蒂斯在共和党基础选民中继续落后。
德桑蒂斯吹捧他在佛罗里达州的记录，强调他有能力实现保守原则。
“我认为我们需要一个将要战斗的人，我认为唐纳德·特朗普是一个过来说他会为我们战斗的人，”他说。“但我们也需要一个会赢的人。有人会为你和你的家庭赢得胜利。”
德桑蒂斯已经把目光瞄准了在爱荷华州的出色表现，这将正式拉开共和党总统候选人提名竞争的序幕。民调显示，到目前为止，根据538的平均值，德桑蒂斯是与特朗普最接近的失败者，特朗普仍然保持着明显的领先优势。
在论坛上，德桑蒂斯试图将这位前总统描绘成一个表演者，而不是一个将在白宫完成任务的人。
前联合国大使妮基·黑利在论坛上被直接问及她对堕胎的立场，这个问题对听众中的福音派基督徒选民来说可能特别重要。
她称自己是联合国最“反堕胎大使”,并重申了她对这个问题的看法——她说这个问题需要更多的人性化和敏感性，强调“尽可能多地拯救婴儿”,同时承认通过全国性禁令的可能性很小。
在一场主要围绕信仰的讨论中，商人兼评论员维韦克·拉马斯瓦米被要求阐述他的宗教信仰他在旅途中遇到了很多。Ramaswmay将他的印度教信仰与犹太教和基督教的价值观联系在一起，在他的回答后获得了观众的掌声。他说，这些价值观并不是基督教独有的。
“它们实际上属于上帝，我认为它们是支撑我们国家的价值观，”他说。
法官裁定，特朗普可以留在科罗拉多州的初选投票中
法宝将会出现在共和党初选中在科罗拉多州，尽管倡导者提出了法律挑战，他们认为他应该因违反第14修正案第3条而被禁止。
这一宪法条款规定，如果人们以前担任过职务，向宪法宣誓，然后从事反对美国的“暴动或叛乱”，那么他们就没有资格竞选公职。特朗普的批评者声称，由于1月6日以及他为扭转2020年选举失利所做的努力，这一条款应该适用。
特朗普断然拒绝了这一点。
在一份102页的意见中，地区法官莎拉·b·华莱士(Sarah B. Wallace)周五引用了对宪法条款的“竞争性解释”和“文本或历史来源中缺乏明确的指导”，以裁定其对特朗普的适用。
周六，在爱荷华州道奇堡的一次承诺会议集会上，特朗普以吹嘘他的法律胜利开始了他的演讲，此前他在另外两个州击败了类似的挑战。专家表示，美国最高法院最终可能不得不参与进来。
特朗普说:“这是一种令人愤慨的企图，通过让我们退出投票来剥夺数百万选民的权利。”
新罕布什尔州正式宣布初选日期
周三，新罕布什尔州国务卿大卫·斯坎伦宣布，花岗岩州的初选将于1月23日举行。
民主党全国委员会对初选的全国第一地位提出了挑战批准新日历这使得南卡罗来纳州的初选成为该党的第一场初选。该党官员认为，这更好地反映了民主党选民和国家的多样性。然而，新罕布什尔州不同意。
在他的声明中，斯坎伦批评了民主党全国委员会批准新提名日历的决定，以及他们对该州民主党可能受到制裁的警告，因为他们按照该州法律的要求，提前了最初的初选日期。斯坎伦表示，该州将“积极捍卫”他们的全国第一地位，并认为民主党全国委员会不遵守的“威胁”是“毫无意义的”
由于民主党全国委员会和新罕布什尔州之间的分歧，乔·拜登总统将不会参加那里的民主党初选。然而，新罕布什尔州的民主党人正在组织总统候选人提名竞选活动。
组织者发起了一场网站通过传达与拜登反对特朗普的宣传相呼应的信息来促进他们的书面努力。登陆页面写道:“我们民主本身的命运在2024年的选举中悬而未决。”
在竞争的共和党方面，新罕布什尔州的初选正在迅速接近2024年的领域。周五公布的一项新的蒙莫斯大学/华盛顿邮报对可能的共和党选民的民意调查显示，特朗普以46%的支持率大幅领先。
紧随其后的是哈利(18%)和前新泽西州长克里斯·克里斯蒂(11%)。如果哈利或克里斯蒂在这一早期阶段表现出色，这场比赛可能会发生转变——像德桑蒂斯这样的竞争对手在作为特朗普最佳替代者的辩论中失去了势头。
Trump beats 3rd legal challenge to his campaign, and more 2024 takeaways you may have missed
Three GOP candidates attended a forum in Iowa ahead of the January caucus that offers a big opportunity to try and prove Donald Trump is not the only candidate Republicans will embrace for president.
Elsewhere, Trump stayed on the ballot in Colorado and the New Hampshire primary date is now official.
Here are the campaign updates you may have missed last week.
Trump alternatives make their case
On Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, three Republican candidates met in a setting more intimate than most on the trail. A makeshift Thanksgiving table took the place of debate stage podiums and discussion flowed with little interruption.
The Family Leader Thanksgiving Family Forum was hosted and moderated by Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of the prominent social conservative organization behind the event. Vander Plaats has been an influential evangelical figure in the GOP and Iowa's Republican politics for decades now, and his endorsement is forthcoming.
At the forum, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis -- who is considered by some to be the eventual recipient of Vander Platt's endorsement -- was asked why he is a better choice than former President Trump, though polls show DeSantis continues to lag with GOP base voters.
DeSantis touted his record in Florida, emphasizing his ability to deliver on conservative principles.
"I think we need somebody that's going to fight, and I think Donald Trump was somebody that came and said he'd fight for us," he said. "But we also need somebody that's going to win. Somebody's going to win for you and win for your family."
DeSantis has set his sights on performing well in Iowa, which officially kicks off the races for the Republican presidential nomination. Polling shows that so far, according to538's average, DeSantis is the closest also-ran against Trump, who still retains a notable lead.
At the forum, DeSantis sought to paint the former president as more of a showman than someone who is going to get things done in the White House.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was directly asked about her stance on abortion at the forum, an issue that was likely particularly important for the evangelical Christian voters in the audience.
She described herself as the most "pro-life ambassador" to the U.N. and reiterated her view of the issue -- which she has said needs more humanization and sensitivity, emphasizing "saving as many babies as possible" while acknowledging that there's little chance of passing a national ban.
In a discussion that was largely centered on faith, businessman and commentator Vivek Ramaswamy was asked to expound on his religion -- somethinghe has encountered a lot on the trail. Ramaswmay linked his Hindu faith to Judeo-Christian values, receiving applause from the audience following his response. Those values, he said, are not unique to Christianity.
"They belong to God actually, and I think they are the values that undergird our country," he said.
Trump can stay on Colorado primary ballot, judge rules
Trumpwill be on the Republican primary ballotin Colorado, despite a legal challenge brought by advocates who argued that he should be barred for violating Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
That constitutional clause disqualifies people from running for office if they previously held office, swore an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. Trump's critics claim it should apply because of Jan. 6 and his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
Trump has rejected that outright.
In a 102-page opinion, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace on Friday cited "competing interpretations" of the constitutional clause and a "lack of definitive guidance in the text or historical sources" in order to rule its application onto Trump.
At a commit-to-caucus rally in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, Trump began his speech by boasting about his legal victory, which follows him beating similar challenges in two other states. Experts say the U.S. Supreme Court could ultimately have to weigh in.
"It was an outrageous attempt at disenfranchising millions and millions of voters by getting us thrown off the ballot," Trump said.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Nov. 18, 2023, in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Bryon Houlgrave/AP
New Hampshire officially announces primary date
On Wednesday, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlon announced that the Granite State's primary will be held on Jan. 23.
The primary's first-in-the-nation status had been challenged by the Democratic National Committee, which in Februaryapproved a new calendarthat set South Carolina's primary as the first for the party. Party officials believe it better reflects the diversity of Democratic voters and the country. New Hampshire, however, disagrees.
In his announcement, Scanlon was critical of the DNC's decision to approve a new nominating calendar and their warnings of possible sanctions on the state's Democratic Party for moving forward with the original primary date, as required by state law. Scanlon said the state would "vigorously defend" their first-in-the-nation status and deemed the DNC's "threats" of non-compliance as "meaningless."
Because of the rift between the DNC and New Hampshire, President Joe Biden will not be on the Democratic primary ballot there. However,individual New Hampshire Democrats are organizinga write-in campaign for the president.
The organizers launched awebsiteto promote their write-in efforts with messaging that echoes Biden's pitch against Trump. The landing page reads: "The fate of our democracy itself hangs in the balance in the 2024 election."
On the GOP side of the contest, the New Hampshire primary is fast approaching for the 2024 field. A new Monmouth University/Washington Post poll of likely Republican voters that was released Friday showed Trump leading considerably at 46%.
Trailing him in second and third were Haley (18%) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (11%). If Haley or Christie perform well in this early state, the race could transform -- with rivals like DeSantis losing momentum in their argument as the best Trump alternative.
