Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds plans to give a strong endorsement to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday, sources familiar with the matter told The Post.
Traditionally, Iowa governors remain neutral in Iowa Caucus contests, but DeSantis has been courting Reynolds for months.
Reynolds’ support of DeSantis is also important because he will be running against an incumbent president. The DeSantis campaign teased an event with Reynolds in Des Moines on Monday.
“BIG NEWS! Governor @KimReynoldsIA will join @RonDeSantis at his rally in Des Moines TOMORROW NIGHT!,” the campaign wrote.
His upcoming endorsement comes amid growing competition in the polls from former South Carolina and US ambassador to the UN Governor Nikki Haley.
Iowa is the first in the national contest for the 2024 GOP nomination contest and will take place on January 15 of next year.
Donald Trump’s allies have recently been flooding the airwaves with attack ads against the Sunshine State governor, even though the former president is still the frontrunner in the Hawkeye State.
Trump leads DeSantis by 31.5 percentage points, in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate. DeSantis got 17.3% support on average while Haley got 11.5%, per aggregate.
Ron DeSantis has courted Kim Reynolds since launching his presidential campaign in May.AFP via Getty Images
The Trump campaign quickly dismissed news of the endorsement, pointing to a poll that concluded, “If one of the early state governors decided to endorse DeSantis, it would only shift the race by a net 4 percentage points in his favor.”
“Kim Reynolds appears to have started her retirement tour early because she clearly has no ambitions for higher office,” the Trump campaign said.
“President Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and that’s why he not only leads every Iowa poll by a significant margin but also beats Crooked Joe Biden in general.”
The 77-year-old former president had a friendly relationship with Reynolds during his presidency but previously shouted at him during the campaign.
“I opened the Governorship for Kim Reynolds, & when he fell behind, I ENDORSED him, did a big Rally, & he won. Now, he wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I didn’t invite him to the event! DeSanctus is down 45 points!” Trump wrote on Social Truth in July.
Donald Trump lashed out at Kim Reynolds over the summer in response to reports that she warmed to Ron DeSantis.Getty Images
His jab at Reynolds at the time came in response to a report from the New York Times about him warming up to DeSantis.
Reynolds has attended various different Republican contenders, but previously suggested he might remain neutral.
“I’m not going to tell Iowans what to do,” he said at one point.
Trump lost Iowa to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) during the 2016 election cycle, but still cruised to the GOP nomination.
The Post contacted Reynolds’ office for comment.
Later this week, DeSantis will join fellow Republicans on the GOP debate stage in Florida for the cycle’s third verbal rumble.
Trump appears ready to skip the verbal sparring and instead hold a nearby rally.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
