The Republican state central committee meets Saturday to pick its leaders. Kevin Hall at the Iowa Republican thinks Ron Paul’s forces will likely dominate the party’s leadership:

The Republican Party of Iowa’s state central committee holds it biennial officer elections on Saturday, and in all likelihood, Ron Paul supporters will sweep all of the organization’s officer spots. That election comes on the heels of a Des Moines Register report that details financial troubles for RPI, due mainly to the Paul- affiliated leadership.

Current Chairman A.J. Spiker is running for reelection. His opponent is Bill Schickel, the current co-chair. A few party activists who are not current SCC members had considered running, but ultimately decided not to.

Spiker defeated Schickel on the second ballot in a 9-8 vote last February. This year’s vote is likely to be more lopsided in Spiker’s favor, the state vice-chair for Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign.

The Register reports that individual donations to the RPI dropped 43 percent through November compared with the previous year and that the party ran in the red all but one month, according to federal disclosures.

More liberty, but less money. So what’s up?

Asked why contributions from individuals ebbed, several Republicans told The Des Moines Register on Thursday that it’s because of a lack of confidence in the Ron Paul-affiliated leaders who ascended into power at state party headquarters earlier this year.

“It’s got a lot of good Republicans very upset about it,” said Gary Kirke, who is one of the top Iowa donors to GOP causes. “They’ll be hard-pressed to raise money until things are straightened out, I’ll tell you that.”

Craig Robinson has a good primer on the leadership election and mentions that the future of the caucuses should also be on the party’s agenda:

The committee has done nothing in regards to the recommendation made by the Caucus Review Committee. If substantial changes are going to be made, it’s essential that they be tested in the 2014 caucus. That means changes need to be implemented and agreed upon this year. The 2016 presidential clock is already ticking, and while it seems a long way off, 2014 offers the party its only option for a test run.

On a local note, former Linn County GOP Chair Eric Rosenthal is among the candidates for party co-chair.