CEDAR RAPIDS -- Making the case for Iowa's first-in-the nation presidential caucuses is easy for Brian Kennedy.

As a new member of a Republican National Committee looking at the 2012 primary and caucus calendar, the Bettendorf Republican will argue keeping Iowa first is a smart choice for the party, especially if there is a role for the states that follow.

"My focus will be on maintaining Iowa's first-in-the-nation status," Kennedy, the former Republican Party of Iowa chairman, said Friday. "But also I'd like Republicans to have a healthy debate about the process after Iowa and New Hampshire. � a system where lots of states have a great deal of influence."

The GOP has approved rules that appear to preserve Iowa's spot, but Kennedy said the plan adopted at the national convention isn't necessarily the final word.

The committee will begin hearings around the country this summer and make a recommendation at the GOP summer meeting in 2010.

"Ultimately, the case for Iowa is that Iowa serves the process well," Kennedy said. "Iowa allows a level playing field where all the candidates can come in and compete, with relatively little money they can get noticed, citizens take the process seriously and it allows a lesser-known to come in and compete."