©  AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

The Iowa State Fair kicked off Thursday, the latest opportunity for GOP presidential hopefuls to get out their message and draw attention in a primary field dominated by former President Trump.

While Trump will visit the fair Saturday, he won’t be participating in The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox, which is billed as giving candidates “20 minutes, a microphone and a crowd eager to listen to political pitches.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has consistently polled second behind Trump, also won’t be participating in the soapbox. That gives lesser-known candidates an opening to make their pitch to voters.

The event draws candidates from across the political spectrum, and will feature two of President Biden‘s Democratic challengers as well.

Iowa will hold the nation’s first presidential nominating contest on Jan. 15.

Here are the candidates who spoke Thursday or will speak later this week: 

Thursday:

• 1:30 p.m.: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
• 4:30 p.m.: Former Vice President Mike Pence

Friday:

• 11:15 a.m.: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
• 12 p.m.: Businessman Perry Johnson
• 1:30 p.m.: Radio host Larry Elder

Saturday:

• 11:15 a.m.: Pastor Ryan Binkley
• 12 p.m.: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
• 1:30 p.m.: Author Marianne Williamson (D)
• 2:15 p.m.: Lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D)
• 3 p.m.: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley

Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson will speak at the event next Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) will also host several “fire-side chats” with GOP candidates, including DeSantis on Saturday and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) next Tuesday. (See KCCI Des Moines’s schedule for the chats here.)

Read more on the event from The Hill’s Caroline Vakil here.

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• President Biden signed a major disaster declaration for Hawaii on Thursday as the state grapples with wildfires. The move frees up federal funds for grants for temporary housing, loans covering property losses and more.
  
  

• House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said his panel will eventually subpoena President Biden’s family members, and possibly the president himself, in its investigation into family members’ foreign business dealings.
  
  

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is now predicting an “above-normal level of activity” for this year’s hurricane season due to high ocean temperatures.

©  The Hill/Greg Nash

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is the latest to sign the Republican National Committee‘s (RNC) pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee, which the RNC made a requirement for participating in the Aug. 23 debate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the pledge Wednesday. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has also signed. DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy met the other criteria the RNC established as well.

Trump said he wouldn’t sign the pledge but also suggested he might still attend the debate.

Special counsel Jack Smith‘s office wants a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date for the case on former President Trump‘s efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election.

Trump’s team has one week to respond. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to decide the date at a hearing on Aug. 28. 

“A Jan. 2 trial date would come just ahead of the first primary contests in the 2024 presidential race,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld wrote. “Trump is also slated to go on civil trial in a defamation suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll beginning Jan. 15, and he faces another civil trial beginning Jan. 29 in a case related to his business dealings.”

Also Thursday: Trump’s attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in the superseding indictment in the case on Trump’s handling of classified documents.

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The Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted to consider an amended petition from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in campaigns. The process begins with a public comment period.

From The Hill’s Rebecca Klar: “The petition requests the FEC clarify that its law against ‘fraudulent misrepresentation’ applies to deceptive AI campaign communications. Generative AI tools, which have been on a rapid rise over the past year, have already been used in 2024 campaign content — especially in the Republican presidential primary.”

Read the full report here.

Fox News host Harris Faulkner‘s new series centering GOP presidential candidates’ families kicked off today with an interview of Apoorva Ramaswamy, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy‘s wife. Check it out here.

A newly released Gallup poll showed 72 percent of female students in four-year undergraduate programs felt stress “a lot of the prior day” compared to 56 percent of male students. A larger share of female students also reported worrying, sadness and loneliness. Read more here.

“My son is an American citizen held in Afghanistan for one year as of today” — Ahmadullah Habibi, the father of American citizen Mahmood Habibi. (Read here)

“They held him 525 days past his release. Will the courts let him fight back?” — Daryl James, a writer at the Institute for Justice. (Read here)

13 days until the first GOP presidential debate.

453 days until the presidential election.

11 a.m.: The House Natural Resources Committee holds an oversight hearing in Yosemite National Park titled “Conservation in a Crown Jewel: A Discussion About Wildfires and Forest Management.”

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@digital-stage.thehill.com

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