Iowa – SamaGamer

Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa is expected to support Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in the Republican presidential primary on Monday, throwing his significant influence in the state behind him as he tries to make up ground against former President Donald J. Trump before the state election. caucus in January.

Approval is expected to come around the time Mr. DeSantis appears in the state, according to three people familiar with the plans.

The approval was first reported by The Des Moines Register and NBC News.

Ms. Reynolds is very popular with Republicans in her state, and she is one of the few governors with whom Mr. DeSantis has maintained real ties in recent years. The two governors aligned on issues related to, among other things, Covid policy and abortion. His interest in his candidacy has been evident for months, including from Mr. Trump, who criticized him for not getting behind him.

People who spoke with Ms. Reynolds say she experienced some frustrations with the DeSantis campaign’s failures. But she is furious with Mr. Trump, who attacked her personally twice, according to these sources.

Mr. Trump’s team has been expected for months to support Mr. DeSantis.

Mr Trump was frustrated earlier this year by Ms Reynolds’ public appearances with Mr DeSantis and said at one point: “I hate to say it, without me, you know, she wasn’t going to win, you know.” you know, right? » He later attacked her again, claiming that he had not invited her to his events.

The endorsement comes ahead of the third presidential debate Wednesday in Miami, in which Mr. DeSantis will attempt to both cozy up to Mr. Trump and separate himself from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador. United who tied with him in Iowa in the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News poll in the state.

The DeSantis campaign declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Ms. Reynolds did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Jason Miller, Mr. Trump’s adviser, mocked the endorsement in an emailed statement with the subject line “Kim Reynolds will support a candidate who will never be president.” “Rob DeSanctimonious will get nothing but Carly Fiorina’s rebound,” he said, referring to one of Mr. Trump’s 2016 challengers.

Ms. Reynolds is deeply protective of her state, and some close to her thought she was unlikely to support Mr. DeSantis unless his campaign showed signs of progress. The decision to endorse appears to be a sign that Ms. Reynolds believes she can make a significant difference in a vote where polls show Mr. Trump still leading by a wide margin. Historically, the Iowa caucuses have been volatile affairs with significant swings in the run-up to the vote.

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will endorse Ron DeSantis for president at a rally in Des Moines on Monday, sources close to both governors told NBC News.

Reynolds’ endorsement is a major boost for the Florida governor, who has gone all-in on Iowa since launching his bid for the GOP nomination in May. DeSantis is currently 27 points behind former President Donald Trump in the Hawkeye State, according to the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll — and he’s also tied for second place with rival Nikki Haley , the former United Nations ambassador catching up. to DeSantis after spending months pitching himself to GOP voters as the party’s leading alternative to Trump.

Now, DeSantis has the support of the state’s popular governor as he tries to climb back up the ladder and challenge Trump in the Jan. 15 caucuses, the first contest of the 2024 GOP presidential race. In the August poll NBC/Des Moines Register/Mediacom, more Iowa Republicans viewed Reynolds favorably — 81 percent — than any of the presidential candidates, and his support could increase DeSantis’ chances of pulling off an upset.

DeSantis’ campaign believes that beating Trump in Iowa — or at least getting close — is the way to prevent the former president from running away with the Republican nomination, and DeSantis is pooling most of his resources to try to achieve this objective. In October, the campaign moved a third of its staff from Tallahassee, Fla., to Iowa. It also used a significant portion of its available cash to make a $2 million ad buy in the state.

Iowa is also by far DeSantis’ most visited state as a candidate, and the Florida governor visited 87 counties before visiting all 99 in the state – a “full Grassley” in campaign parlance. Iowa, named for the state’s senior senator, Chuck Grassley.

Reynolds is putting her political capital on the line after initially saying she would remain neutral in the GOP primaries. She told the Des Moines Register in February that she wanted to maintain a level playing field for all Republican candidates seeking to run against President Joe Biden.

“If I give my opinion, I don’t know if they will feel welcome,” she said at the time.

The Trump campaign, which has criticized Reynolds throughout 2023, criticized her again after announcing her support for backtracking on her initial plans to remain neutral. The Trump campaign also argued that Reynolds’ support “won’t make a difference in this race,” citing polls showing that few people are likely to shift their vote based on support. Trump’s super PAC also conducted a poll showing that few people changed their votes in the Iowa caucus after being asked about a hypothetical Reynolds endorsement.

The endorsement marks a major departure from tradition: Iowa governors have typically stayed on the sidelines before the caucuses. An approval last occurred in 1996, when then-Gov. Terry Branstad threw his support behind Bob Dole — although Branstad also backed out in 2016 to say he hoped Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas would be defeated before that year’s caucuses. Branstad’s move backfired as Cruz won the caucuses that year, a sign that big-name support is no guarantee in a campaign.

Reynolds appeared with most of the candidates vying for the nomination — but her repeated friendly appearances with DeSantis began to gain popularity over the summer. She has appeared alongside the governor at least eight times this year, before and after he announced his candidacy for president. Reynolds also appeared alongside DeSantis’ wife, Casey DeSantis, at a “Mamas for DeSantis” campaign event in July.

On stage, the two governors maintain a friendly relationship, calling each other by their first names and full of praise for their legislative achievements. They sat side by side at last month’s “Cy-Hawk” football game between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

That kindness drew the attention — and ire — of Trump, who sat in a luxury box above both governors at the same game, after he attacked Reynolds in a Truth Social article in July.

“I opened the governorship to Kim Reynolds, and when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, had big rallies and she won,” Trump posted, referring to how Reynolds, then the state’s lieutenant governor, rose to Iowa’s top job when Trump nominated Branstad to be ambassador to China.

“Now she wants to stay ‘NEUTRAL’. I don’t invite him to events! Trump added.

Before Reynolds, two Republican state officials in Iowa supported other presidential candidates. State Attorney General Brenna Bird threw her support behind Trump, while state Treasurer Roby Smith backed businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

Dasha Burns is an NBC News correspondent.

Abigail Brooks

Abigail Brooks is a producer for NBC News.

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