Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds stated Monday that the “fundamental cause” she is supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis within the 2024 GOP presidential race is as a result of she believes former President Donald Trump won’t be able to win the final election.
Ms. Reynolds, in an interview with Mr. DeSantis, informed NBC Information that she believed Mr. Trump “can’t win” and “I believe Ron can.”
The governor of Iowa formally endorsed Mr. DeSantis at a marketing campaign rally Monday evening in Des Moines, saying there was an excessive amount of at stake to take a seat on the sidelines and saying Mr. DeSantis was the suitable individual to get the nation again on monitor.
“We’d like somebody to battle for you and win for you,” she stated. “We’d like somebody who does not get distracted, who places this nation first, not himself.”
“This chief is Ron DeSantis!” She stated.
Mr. DeSantis stated he was “honored” to have Ms. Reynolds’ assist, praising her as one of many state’s best ever governors.
“She has proven a capability to face up and battle for you when it is not simple,” Mr. DeSantis stated. “I believe she understands what I perceive, which is that this nation has slipped.”
Mr. DeSantis is hoping that assist from Ms. Reynolds, arguably the most well-liked Republican in Iowa, may give his bid a lift of power simply two months after the Jan. 15 caucuses start the nomination course of.
The Florida governor is working second in Iowa, however nonetheless trails Trump by 30 factors, in accordance with a Actual Clear Politics common of polls.
Nevertheless, Mr. DeSantis’s supporters hope that the time and power he has spent this 12 months — he’s approaching stops in all 99 Iowa counties — will permit him to consolidate the vote towards Trump and produce a consequence sturdy sufficient to impact dramatic change. A niche is inevitably within the air round Mr. Trump’s supply.
“I do not base my choice on polls,” Ms. Reynolds stated in an interview with NBC. “I take a look at who I believe is the suitable individual for the suitable job. I believe Ron is the suitable individual for the suitable job.
Mr. DeSantis is locked in a aggressive battle for second place and the assist of “Anyone However Trump” voters from Nikki Haley, the previous US ambassador to the United Nations, who’s third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire.
Ms. Reynolds, a two-term governor, had deliberate to remain out of the race, however issues started to vary after Trump criticized her for not endorsing his marketing campaign and claimed credit score for profitable the state’s governorship.
In an interview with NBC Information, Ms. Reynolds stated she didn’t know the place her relationship with Mr. Trump stood, and stated that they had not spoken since “the final time he known as me to ask if I might assist him.”
