Walker, Sanders sign on for Register's State Fair soapbox

Newly minted GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders will speak at The Des Moines Register's State Fair Soapbox during the 2015 Iowa State Fair, the candidates' campaigns have confirmed.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, will speak at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, and Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, will speak at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17.

The soapbox, an Iowa State Fair tradition, has become a mainstay of Iowa politics that draws candidates of all stripes for state and national offices.

Speeches from the soapbox attract national media coverage during years leading up to the Iowa presidential caucuses. Other speakers will be announced as candidates sign up for their time slots.

In 2011, a soapbox appearance yielded one of the defining comments of the 2012 presidential race, when Mitt Romney told hecklers, "Corporations are people, my friend."

The soapbox generally operates every day of the fair, Aug. 13 to 23, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Candidates will receive a microphone and 20 minutes to address Iowans and other passers-by from a stage in front of the Horner Service Center on the Grand Concourse.

Anyone wishing to see the candidates at the soapbox must pay admission to the fair.

The Register also has invited the national chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties to speak.

Mark Everson, a former IRS commissioner and long-shot Republican presidential candidate, also has scheduled an appearance at the soapbox. He'll speak at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.

President George Washington, portrayed by Ron Carnegie, will kick off the 2015 soapbox by speaking on the importance of voting and by fielding questions from fair attendees. Washington, who will appear on behalf of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, will speak at 10 a.m. Aug. 13.