Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is set to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in the 2024 race over Republican businessman Donald Trump.
Sources close to both governors said that the announcement is believed to be announced during a rally in Des Moines on Monday. Reynolds' endorsement of DeSantis could become a major boost to the latter's campaign.
Kim Reynolds to Endorse Ron DeSantis
DeSantis has gone all-in on Iowa since launching his campaign for the presidency in the 2024 race. The Florida governor is currently trailing Trump by 27 points in the Hawkeye State based on the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Medicom poll.
Furthermore, DeSantis is currently tied for second place with Republican rival Nikki Haley and the former United Nations ambassador is catching up to the former. This comes despite the Florida governor spending months pitching himself to GOP voters as the party's main alternative to the former president.
The latest development gives DeSantis the support of Iowa's popular governor as he continues his efforts to climb up the ladder and challenge Trump for the 2024 nomination. More Republicans in the state viewed Reynolds favorably than any of the presidential candidates in a previous poll, as per NBC News.
The Florida governor's campaign believes that beating the former president in Iowa is the way to prevent Trump from running away with the Republican nomination. DeSantis is also pooling most of his resources to try and achieve that particular goal.
DeSantis' campaign in October moved a third of its staff to Iowa from Tallahassee, Florida. Furthermore, it used a significant portion of its cash fund to make a $2 million ad buy in the Hawkeye State.
Iowa is the Florida governor's most visited state as a candidate by far and he has hit 87 counties on his way to touring all 99 in the state. Reynolds' decision places her political capital on the line after she initially said that she would remain neutral in the GOP primary.
Angering Donald Trump
During an interview with Iowa reporters on Oct. 25, DeSantis said that earning Reynolds' formal endorsement would be a "huge get" for his campaign. He noted that the state governor's efforts in Iowa have been a model for how people should govern, according to the Des Moines Register.
The latest development angered Trump who had already lashed out at the Iowa governor over her apparent coziness with the Florida governor. The former president accused Reynolds of being insufficiently loyal to him.
Soon after the news broke of Reynolds' planned endorsement of DeSantis, Trump's campaign released a statement. It said that the Iowa governor has apparently begun her retirement tour early, arguing that she does not have any ambition for higher office.
In a series of angry social media posts, Trump himself also attacked Reynolds over her endorsement of DeSantis. He said that the decision would be the end of the Iowa governor's career because MAGA would never support her again in the future.
The former president called both Reynolds and DeSantis of being two extremely disloyal people getting together. He added that the situation is a "very beautiful thing to watch" and noted that they can now remain loyal to each other because no one else would want them, said the Associated Press.
